Jones selects Ellison, brings reform platform to ticket
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Emily Ellison speaks Monday in Rock Point Valley in Tsé Ntsaa Deez’áhí, Ariz., after Justin Jones announced her as his running mate. Ellison’s maternal family is from the Chéch’iltah and Jones Ranch, N.M., areas. She said livestock and sheepherding were cornerstones of her childhood.
ROCK POINT, Ariz.
Emily Ellison stood Monday before Justin Jones’ family home fire in Rock Point Valley and accepted his selection of her as his running mate after her third campaign for Navajo Nation president ended in the July 21 primary.
“Yá’át’ééh,” she told the crowd. “What an honor to be selected today. I am so proud to be Navajo. I’m so proud to be Diné.”
Jones introduced Ellison at his family homesite following a prayer and smoke ceremony. Both delivered most of their remarks in Diné.
Jones and Ellison will face Speaker Crystalyne Curley and her running mate, Christopher Clark Deschene, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Ellison described her pairing with Jones as a merger of similar platforms rather than a concession by her campaign.
“We’re two sides of the same coin, and in a way, I represent the female version of government indignation at this point, and with him I see leadership,” she said. “And we’re not the establishment at this point. We are the rebels.”
To read the full article, please see the July 30, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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