Five incumbents lose bids to return to Council
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo voters used the July 21 primary to reshape the Navajo Nation Council, removing five sitting delegates, one by 48 votes, and leaving a sixth incumbent’s place on the November ballot unsettled by a seven-vote margin challenged after an Election Day power outage.
Johnny Naize, the former speaker who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, ran unopposed in the outgoing speaker’s home district, clearing his path back to the Council Chamber.
The results, certified Aug. 13 by the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors from a primary that drew about a third of registered voters, set the general election fields for the Council’s 24 seats. The top two finishers in each contested district advance to the Nov. 3 ballot.
Germaine Simonson came closest among the five defeated incumbents. In the six-way race covering Hardrock, Pinon, Forest Lake, Tsé Ch’ízhí and Black Mesa, she finished third with 311 votes, 48 behind Tylee Tom, who advances against Laurelle Sheppard.
Curtis Yanito of Mexican Water finished fifth in Northern Agency’s six-way race, where Manuel Morgan and Greg H. Bigman advance. Casey Allen Johnson finished fifth in Western Navajo’s most crowded district, a seven-candidate field led by Thomas Walker Jr. and Loretta Tsinigine Seweingyawma.
To read the full article, please see the Sept. 3, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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