Jonathan Nez Blasts Eli Crane For Voting Against Bipartisan Bills to Lower Housing Costs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: 3/30/2026

“[Crane] is a millionaire who doesn’t even live within an hour of the district… It's no wonder he votes the way he does. He doesn’t understand us,” Nez said 

New reporting from the Copper Courier highlights how Eli “High Costs” Crane is failing rural Arizonans, including by voting against two bipartisan bills to make housing more affordable. 

In February, Crane was one of just nine members of Congress to vote against sweeping, bipartisan legislation to lower housing costs. One month later, Crane voted against a Republican-led bill to cut through red tape and make it easier for people to own homes on tribal land.

“​​I grew up in a rural community [with] no running water or electricity. Eli Crane, on the other hand, is a millionaire who doesn’t even live within an hour of the district… It's no wonder he votes the way he does. He doesn’t understand us,” Nez told the Copper Courier.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Copper Courier: Representation gap: Nez doubles down on Eli Crane’s votes against constituents’ best interests

• Congressman Eli Crane was elected in 2022 to represent the largest congressional district in Arizona, but many constituents say he doesn’t have their best interests at heart. Jonathan Nez said he wants to change that.
  
  

• Nez, the former president of the Navajo Nation, is vying to be the first Native American from Arizona to be elected to the US House of Representatives. He says he will prioritize lowering costs for everyday necessities and put more money into the pockets of constituents.   

• This year alone, US Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.)... has voted against two bipartisan bills to make housing more affordable and accessible, including for tribal communities that make up a huge chunk of his constituency.
  
  

• “​​I grew up in a rural community [with] no running water or electricity. Eli Crane, on the other hand, is a millionaire who doesn’t even live within an hour of the district… it’s no wonder he votes the way he does. He doesn’t understand us,” Nez said.

• In March, Crane voted against the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act, a bill that would simplify the approval process of property mortgages on tribal lands, even though the effort was led by two Republicans. 

• In February, Crane was one of nine members of Congress to vote against the Housing in the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan bill that aimed to increase homeownership through modernizing local development and rural housing programs, among other housing affordability changes.

• Crane has also caught heat for a noticeable lack of town halls with his constituents, including in northern Arizona, where organizers have said he’s never hosted a town hall.

• Last year, Crane voted in support of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that cut Medicaid funding and overwhelmingly put rural hospitals at risk of closure. 

• He also voted against extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, which raised the cost of health insurance premiums for thousands of Arizonans. 

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. He is running for Congress to lower costs for families, deliver water security to all Arizonans, and give rural Arizonans a voice in Congress. He lives in Flagstaff with his wife, Phefelia, and their two boys.