Media Contact:
James Gravitt
928-542-1786
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2025
Flagstaff, AZ – Jonathan Nez, former President of the Navajo Nation and rural Arizona leader, announced today that he is running for Congress in Arizona’s second congressional district. If elected, Nez would be the first Native American congressperson from Arizona. Home to 14 tribes, nearly 20% of people living in AZ-02 are Native American.
“As Navajo Nation President, I worked across the aisle to deliver water security and lower prices for Northern Arizona, and that’s the kind of leadership we need in Congress,” said Nez. “I am a fighter, and now more than ever we need someone to warrior up and fight for Arizona. The only thing Crane has fought for since taking office is taking money from our hard working families to give to billionaires. Mr. Crane has betrayed us.”
Jonathan Nez grew up in the district in rural Shonto, AZ, on his family ranch with no electricity or running water. As President of Navajo Nation, he worked to expand water rights in rural Arizona, spur economic growth, and protect rural Arizonans’ way of life. Crane, who lives in the wealthy suburb of the Oro Valley, does not maintain a residence in the second congressional district. He has not bothered to move to live in the district he represents but has continually sold out Arizona’s rural and tribal communities at every opportunity.
“Eli Crane voted to gut Arizonans’ health care and take food off our tables – all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Nearly 1 in 3 people in our district depend on Medicaid, or AHCCCS as it’s called in Arizona. Thousands are going to lose their health coverage and hospitals across our region – in Page, Winslow, and Globe – could be forced to shut down. Crane’s priorities might go over well in the wealthy suburbs where he is from, but not in rural Arizona,” Nez continued.
Arizona’s second congressional district will be disproportionately harmed by Crane’s recent votes to slash Medicaid, jeopardize rural hospitals, and cut funding for public media, including tribal radio stations. Two counties in the district – Apache County and Navajo County – have among the largest county-level shares of seniors on Medicaid in the country. Multiple tribal radio stations in Arizona’s second congressional district, including KUYI on the Hopi Reservation and KGHR on the Navajo Nation, depend on the funding Crane voted to gut for roughly half their revenue.
Nez’s announcement comes after one of the strongest overperformances in the nation last cycle, which energized Northern Arizona, attracted over 78,000 grassroots online donors, and put AZ-02 on the map.
In 2024, Nez outperformed Kamala Harris in AZ-02 by 3.5 points, and outperformed Senator Ruben Gallego. As Cook Political Report wrote in late October 2024, Nez has “quietly built up a robust campaign operation focused on mobilizing Native American voters and reaching out to moderate Republicans turned off by Crane’s hardline style.”
Earlier this year, the DCCC added AZ-02 to its “Districts in Play” list. The Cook Political Report recently wrote that due to Nez’s strong performance last cycle, he will make this race competitive: “Democratic strategists acknowledge that this district is a reach for them to flip, but they believe Nez could make this a competitive race — particularly if the national political environment favors Democrats.” Nez enters the race ready to fight for Northern Arizona and win.
ABOUT JONATHAN NEZ: Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, the 2024 Democratic nominee for Congress in AZ-02, grew up in rural Arizona, helping his family run a ranch without running water or electricity. Nez began his career in public service in his community of Shonto on the Navajo Nation, serving in a number of positions before being elected President of the Navajo Nation in 2018. Today, Jonathan lives in Flagstaff with his wife Phefelia and their two boys.
