Indianz.Com > News > Former Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez launches bid for Congress
Former Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez launches bid for Congress
Monday, October 16, 2023
Indianz.Com
Jonathan Nez, a former president of the Navajo Nation, is running for Congress in one of the most Native-populated districts in the United States.
Nez announced his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. He is seeking the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional district, where 22 percent of the population is American Indian or Alaska Native.
“I lived in Arizona my whole life,” Nez said in a video posted on social media. “I grew up in a rural, low-income home without electricity or running water.”
“I understand the struggles that 2nd district families are facing right now — from the rising costs of food, gas, and child care to increasingly devastating wildfires and health care deserts — and above all, a sense that their elected representatives don’t care about them, that D.C. politicians have left them behind,” Nez continued.
The 2nd district is currently represented by Eli Crane, a Republican who has been a prominent participant in an internal party uprising that has left the House without a permanent Speaker for the first time in U.S. history. The GOP efforts almost led to a shutdown of the federal government. “As we face these challenges, we can’t afford to have an extremist representatives who will take us to the brink of a government shutdown just to prove a political point,” Nez said in his campaign video. Crane is a first-term member of Congress, having won election to the House in November 2022. He defeated Democrat Tom O’Halleran, who was the incumbent in what was previously known as Arizona’s 1st Congressional district. The 1st district was heavily Native as well — it included the Arizona portions of the Navajo Nation as well as the reservations of several other tribes. O’Halleran made efforts to address Indian Country’s needs during his six years on Capitol Hill.I’m running to represent #AZ02 in the U.S. House!
— Jonathan Nez (@NezForAZ) October 16, 2023
Arizonans deserve leaders in Congress who work for them, not extremists trying to score political points—I'll always put rural AZ before DC politics.
Help support my campaign by chipping in here: https://t.co/wSCdPQpf7P#Nez4AZ pic.twitter.com/hjpp1gtr4g
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