Republican Rep. Eli Crane has secured another term in Congress after surviving a razor-thin reelection battle in Arizona, holding off a Democratic challenger as Republicans grapple with widespread losses in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Associated Press called Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District race for Crane on Monday, Nov. 9, nearly a week after voters headed to the polls.
The former Navy SEAL and staunch ally of President Donald Trump defeated Democrat Jonathan Nez, the former president of the Navajo Nation, in a closely contested rematch that remained undecided for days.
Crane led Nez with approximately 49.7% of the vote to the Democrat’s 48.5% when the race was called, according to the Associated Press.
Fewer than 4,000 votes separated the candidates, a dramatic contrast to the comfortable victory Crane secured over the same opponent just two years earlier.
The contest repeatedly shifted as election officials continued processing ballots across Arizona’s sprawling rural district, leaving both campaigns awaiting the final outcome.
For Crane, the result preserves a Republican-held seat in a district that Trump carried by approximately 15 percentage points during the 2024 presidential election.
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It also delivers a victory for the conservative House Freedom Caucus, where Crane has established himself as an outspoken advocate for limited government, border security and fiscal restraint.
Crane, who has represented the district since January 2023, entered Congress after a career in the Navy SEALs and quickly became associated with the Republican Party’s conservative wing.
He has consistently supported Trump’s America First priorities while challenging federal spending and criticizing Washington’s political establishment.
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Following the election, Crane reaffirmed his determination to challenge entrenched political interests.
“I’m going to keep fighting against the status quo in Congress,” Crane said in a statement posted to social media. “Both parties have been driving this country into the ground for decades, and the American people are sick of it.”
His victory came despite an increasingly competitive political environment that forced Republicans to invest additional resources in a district previously considered a reliable GOP stronghold.
In 2024, Crane defeated Nez by approximately nine percentage points. This time, the Democrat came within roughly one percentage point of unseating him.
Nez campaigned heavily on issues affecting rural Arizona, including infrastructure, federal assistance and services for Native American communities.
The former Navajo Nation president also criticized Crane’s record, arguing that the Republican had failed to deliver sufficient federal resources to communities across the district.
Nez further emphasized that Crane does not reside within the congressional district, although federal law does not require House members to live inside the districts they represent.
As Election Day approached, both national parties directed additional attention and resources toward the contest amid signs that the race was tightening.
What once appeared to be a comfortable Republican seat ultimately became one of Arizona’s last unresolved congressional races.
Crane was not the only Republican forced into an unexpectedly close contest.
Republicans also narrowly retained Arizona’s 5th and 8th Congressional Districts, where Democratic challengers mounted competitive campaigns in areas previously considered favorable to the GOP.
However, the party suffered significant setbacks elsewhere in the state.
Arizona Republicans entered the election holding six of the state’s nine congressional seats, compared with three controlled by Democrats.
Following the midterms, that balance is set to reverse, with Democrats holding five seats and Republicans retaining four.
The shift reflects the broader political challenges Republicans encountered nationwide as Democrats captured control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Nevertheless, Crane’s victory ensures that one of Donald Trump‘s most prominent allies in Arizona will return to Washington for another term.
Although Republicans will enter the next Congress in the minority, Crane is expected to remain a vocal member of the conservative opposition to Democratic legislative priorities.
The result also highlights how dramatically the political landscape changed between the 2024 presidential election and the 2026 midterms.
A district Trump carried by double digits became a battleground where the Republican incumbent spent days waiting for enough ballots to be counted to secure his reelection.
