Race to Watch: Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District

Arizona has been a major battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, lifting hopes that voters will make history in more ways than one.

Arizona's 2nd Congressional District includes the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation, as well as the Hualapai Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe. About 22 percent of the residents are American Indian or Alaska Native, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Despite the significant Native population, a Native person has never represented the district. Voters in Arizona have never sent a Native person to the U.S. Congress either.

Jonathan Nez, a Democrat and a former president of the Navajo Nation, is hoping to change everything on Election Day in  2024. He's trying to unseat Eli Crane, the Republican incumbent, in a race that has drawn nationwide attention.

"Jonathan Nez was a steady partner to me while I was in Congress and we advocated for resources to help Native communities get through the pandemic," said Deb Haaland, a history-maker in her own right as one of the first two Native women elected to Congress and the first Native person to serve in a presidential cabinet.

"He will be the leader rural Arizonans need serving in the House of Representatives," Haaland said of Nez in an October 27, 2024, post on social media.

Crane has served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has co-sponsored several pro-tribal bills in the 118th Congress but often does not go along with the chamber's Republican leadership -- a stance that has hindered movement on federal funding measures and other legislation of importance to Indian Country.

And despite the national attention to the Native vote in Arizona, Crane has not made significant efforts to discuss Native issues. His campaign's social media feed on X, for instance, contains just two posts about Native people -- and both appeared last week, on October 27, 2024, and October 31, 2024.

But Crane in recent weeks has awoken to national headlines and polls suggesting that the district is turning away from him. Nez has essentially tied the race, even though Arizona's 2nd is still considered to favor Republicans.

For election results from the Arizona Secretary of State, visit arizona.vote. Polls close at 7pm Arizona time. Unofficial results will be reported starting at 8pm, according to the website.