Democratic U.S. House candidate Jonathan Nez took the opportunity to tout his "Warrior Up" agenda for a greater Arizona congressional district after his Republican rival, incumbent Rep. Eli Crane, declined an invitation to a televised debate.
Nez, a former Navajo Nation president, promised to be a "warrior" for accountability if elected Nov. 3.
"They always say it's time to 'Cowboy Up.' But you know what ladies and gentlemen? We need to 'Warrior Up,'" Nez said Sept. 10 at the event hosted by Arizona's Citizens Clean Elections Commission. "We need to make sure that the billionaires pay their fair share. … The Epstein Files all should be revealed and all those folks should be held accountable, no matter if they are Democrat or Republican."
This year's
general election in the 2nd Congressional District is a rematch between Crane and Nez.
Crane, first elected to Congress in 2022, fended off a Republican primary challenge last year and coasted to an easy, double-digit victory in the 2024 general election.
This year's race offers a better opportunity for the Democrat's prospects, Nez said.
"There was a big promise of 'America First.' And now there's a lot of buyers' remorse in our community," he said at the forum. "Even the independents are now frustrated."
Even during a midterm cycle that is expected to be rocky for Republicans, most political observers say Democrats would have a tough time flipping Nez's rural, conservative-leaning congressional district, although that hasn't stopped national political groups from pouring in money.
Both parties have funneled six-figure sums into the seat, a sign that Washington, D.C., leaders are keeping tabs on the district.
The 2nd Congressional District is a largely rural area that also includes the communities of Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott and Prescott Valley.
The district stretches across Apache, Coconino, Graham, Greenlee and Navajo counties, as well as parts of Gila, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal and Yavapai counties.
Making sure Arizona gets its "fair share" of water from the Colorado River and protecting "our precious groundwater" are priorities, Nez said, vowing to work across the aisle to get that done. He also faulted Crane's record in that regard.
"The first thing a congressman should do is be at the table for these discussions. My opponent has yet to be at the table for these discussions," Nez said. "He's campaigning for other people and for other places in parts of this country. But not advocating on our behalf. And being a facilitator means bringing people to the table and having the frank discussion about our future. We're not going to get everything, right, but we get a compromise."
Nez pointed to his past leadership roles with the Navajo Nation and talked about the community diversified its economy in changing times.
"We tried to keep those coal-fired power plants operational, but the owners, and those who were influential on that, said it wasn't feasible because of the move to renewable energy. I get that. So what the Navajo Nation did was to create three large-scale solar projects on the Navajo Nation."
Nez also warned that attempts to curtail mail-in voting would disenfranchise and burden voters, particularly Native American communities and women. In Arizona, recent changes in voting laws have hurt Native Americans, he said.
"Now, we've got a lot of elders out there who live on tribal lands and they don't go off the tribal lands much. So they don't need a birth certificate or an ID," Nez said. "But you know what? Because of these recent bills that have been put into law, a lot of our families, a lot of our elders, have been disenfranchised. Now let's talk about the (pending-in-Congress) SAVE Act: the same concept there. There's going to be a lot of people who are going to lose their voting rights.
"I think it's just a way to keep these folks in power because they fear they have not advocated for their constituents, for the people they serve," he said.
Nez painted Crane as beholden to billionaires and "ultra-wealthy people" and emphasized that he offers a better choice to Democrats and Republicans in the district.
"I'm not afraid to push back on my party as well," Nez said. "And, really, this election shouldn't be about party politics, Republicans and Democrats. It's about the divide between the ultra-wealthy, the billionaires of this country, and the hard-working people of this country and the state of Arizona."
(This story was updated to include new information.)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democratic US House hopeful Jonathan Nez outlines 'Warrior Up' agenda
