Nez criticizes Crane on voting rights, housing
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation president and Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, speaks during a town hall in Flagstaff on July 29, 2025, as a life-size cutout of incumbent Rep. Eli Crane stands nearby.
WINDOW ROCK
Democratic congressional candidate Jonathan Nez criticized Republican U.S. Rep. Eli Crane’s record on voting rights, housing, water and healthcare as the former Navajo Nation president pushes for a rematch in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.
Nez, who lost to Crane in 2024, is making a second bid for the district, which includes the Navajo Nation, Hopi lands and much of northeastern Arizona. Both candidates are unopposed in their July 21 primaries. The general election is Nov. 3.
“There is a lot of frustration, even more than before, about the direction this country is going,” Nez said in a phone interview after casting an early ballot in Tuba City. “High prices, fuel is going up and down, fluctuating in price, food prices are continuing to increase.”
Nez reserved some of his strongest criticism for Crane’s support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, and the later SAVE America Act. The measures would add proof-of-citizenship and voter identification requirements for federal elections.
To read the full article, please see the July 9, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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