The San Carlos Apache Tribal Council unanimously endorsed former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District at their Nov. 7, 2023, meeting. Nez, a Democrat, is running for the seat now held by Republican Eli Crane. He announced his candidacy on Oct. 16, 2023.

Nez, born in Tuba City and raised in Shonto, has served as vice president of the Navajo Nation’s Shonto Chapter, a member of the Nation’s Council and a Navajo County Supervisor. He was the Navajo Nation’s vice president for four years before winning its presidency in 2018. After losing his bid for re-election last year, Nez told the San Carlos Apache Moccasin, “We thought we were going to start a business and move away from politics.” However, he said, former U.S. Representative Karan English, as well as constituents, persuaded him to re-enter the field. Nez said he was further encouraged to run by recent events in the House of Representatives, which went three weeks without a Speaker after Republican Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. “This decision was solidified when we kept watching the disarray in Washington,” said Nez. Crane was among the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy on Oct. 3, 2023.

Nez said his father, who passed away on July 4, 2023, gave him this advice: “If you have the ability to do something, you do it. You don’t just sit on the sidelines and watch things go south.”

The recently redrawn 2nd District covers much of northern and eastern Arizona, including the Navajo Nation, the San Carlos Apache Reservation and Gila County. Fourteen of the state’s 22 federally recognized tribes are within the district, which has about 30,000 more registered Republican voters than Democrats. However, there are also an estimated 160,000 voters registered as independent.

If his campaign succeeds, Nez would be the first Native American Congressman from Arizona – a “first” he touted while addressing the crowd at the Nov. 11 San Carlos Apache Veterans Parade. Nez is of the Áshįįhí (Salt People) and born for the Ta’neeszahnii (Tangle Clan). His maternal grandfather’s clan is Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water Clan) and his paternal grandfather’s clan is Táchii’nii (Red-Running-Into-The-Water clan).

Nez also cited his experience working with the federal government as president of the Navajo Nation. “I have worked with Congressional delegations from the Four Corners states and others, and we have good relationships. I believe that will help us hit the ground running,” he told the Moccasin. “There’s excitement around our campaign and our message.”

He said issues district residents face include rising food and gas prices, the need for affordable housing, increasing wildfires and having healthy forests, and workforce development. “We need to make sure jobs get created in the district,” he added. “A lot of retraining has started with workforce development dollars. We do encourage our children to go into higher education, but sometimes we forget that trade schools are also important.”

Primary elections will be held Aug. 6, 2024. In addition to Nez and Crane, there were three other candidates for the 2nd Congressional District at press time: Democrat Lindsay Bowe, Republican Walter Blackman and Libertarian David Bies.