FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: 1/8/2026
CONTACT: [email protected]
As a result, Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District will see some of the highest healthcare spikes of any district in the nation
FLAGSTAFF, AZ —
Jonathan Nez, candidate for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District and the former President of the Navajo Nation, issued the following statement in response to Eli Crane’s vote to raise his own constituents’ healthcare costs by over 400% by letting enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits expire.
Statement from Jonathan Nez, Candidate for Congress, AZ-02:
“Congressman Crane is completely out of touch with what rural Arizonans are facing. If Crane lived here and was actually listening to the people he’s supposed to represent, he would know just how devastating his agenda is to families already struggling to make ends meet.
Rural Arizonans are good people who don’t ask much of their government, just that their representatives put their interests first — even if it means having the courage to go against your own party.
Today, other Republicans showed that courage, but Rep. Eli “Higher Costs” Crane made clear that he cares more about pleasing the insurance companies, his donors, and his party than he does about delivering for rural Arizona.”
Eli “Higher Costs” Crane’s cruelty is disappointing, but not surprising. During the recent government shutdown, Crane said he would “do everything in my power to try and avoid supporting” a measure to extend the ACA subsidies – despite some of his own constituents paying more than 400% more for their health care without them- among the highest percentage increases in the country. Last year, Crane voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid (AHCCCS) in history. Crane’s agenda could force at least five Arizona hospitals to close, including three in our district – in Page, Winslow, and Globe – and kick nearly 400,000 Arizonans off their health care.
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.
