Eli Crane vs Jonathan Nez: AZ CD2 voter guide at a glance

May 7, 2026

A nonpartisan Arizona group has published a side-by-side voter guide for the 2nd Congressional District, where Republican incumbent Eli Crane and Democratic challenger Jonathan Nez are competing for a seat covering much of rural northern and eastern Arizona. Arizona Communities Together posts the comparison under the “AZ CD2 Info” section of and says its mission is to increase voter turnout and civic engagement.

The guide lists 11 issues, from tariffs and taxes to abortion, climate, housing, and mail-in voting. It doesn’t grade the candidates or tell readers whom to support. Instead, it offers a quick way to see the choice and then directs readers to fuller issue pages on each candidate’s campaign.

Crane, a former Navy SEAL first elected in 2022, has represented the district since January 2023. Nez, a former president of the Navajo Nation, is running as the Democratic challenger. Their backgrounds reflect the district’s mix of military communities, ranching towns, and tribal areas, which makes the race more than a standard party-line contest.

The side-by-side at a glance

Here is how the candidates appear in the Arizona Communities Together guide:

Trade, taxes, and economic policy

The economy is one of the clearest dividing lines. The guide says Crane supports Trump’s tariffs, while Nez opposes them. On tax policy, Crane is listed as favoring lower taxes for corporations and wealthy taxpayers; Nez backs higher taxes on those groups.

Food assistance also separates the two. The guide asks whether to restore the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Crane’s answer is no; Nez’s answer is yes. That difference could matter in a district with rural communities, small towns, and tribal nations where food access is an ongoing concern.

Housing is another point of contrast. The guide lists Crane as having voted against a bipartisan housing bill, while Nez says he supports it. Because home costs and rental supply have become leading issues across Arizona, this row may draw attention from voters who normally focus on national security or taxes.

Health care and abortion

The two candidates also split sharply on health care. The guide indicates Crane would decrease federal support for health-care programs, while Nez would increase it. The wording is broad, so voters who want specifics will need to follow the links on the group’s site to see how each candidate defines “increase” or “decrease.”

Abortion is likely the most emotional issue on the list. The guide says Crane supports a ban with no exceptions, while Nez supports a woman’s right to choose. Arizona has been at the center of abortion policy debates since the fall of Roe v. Wade, and the CD2 race gives rural voters a clear choice on the issue.

Voting access and campaign finance

The guide also looks at how elections are run. On mail-in voting, Crane is listed as saying no to preserving the current system, while Nez says yes. Arizona has used widespread mail balloting for years, and this issue has become a standard part of legislative and congressional races across the state.

Campaign finance reform is one notable gap. Nez is listed as supporting reform, but Crane’s position is listed as unknown, meaning the candidate’s material did not provide a clear answer in the guide. That does not necessarily mean Crane has no view; it may mean the issue is not featured on the issue page the group reviewed. Voters who care about this topic should check his campaign website directly.

Iran, climate, and environmental rules

Foreign policy appears in the guide through the question of U.S. action on Iran. Crane’s position is marked “mixed,” while Nez is listed as opposing such action. The label “mixed” is vague, so it may reflect a more conditional position that depends on military authorization, diplomacy, or congressional approval.

On climate change, the contrast is direct. The guide says Crane does not treat climate change as a top priority, while Nez says it should be one. Environmental regulations follow the same pattern: Crane would loosen rules, and Nez would tighten them. For voters in a district with national forests, public lands, and wildfire concerns, those positions can carry real local weight.

How to read the guide

The quick list is a useful starting point, but it is not a complete scorecard. Some rows compare a recorded vote with a campaign position. For example, Crane’s opposition to the bipartisan housing bill is a fact from his congressional record. Nez’s support for the bill is a stated position because he is not currently serving in Congress. Voters should treat those as different types of evidence rather than as equal measures of behavior.

The same is true for the “mixed” and “unknown” labels. They are placeholders, not final verdicts. The group’s goal is to push voters past the headlines and into the candidates’ own issue pages, where they can read fuller answers and look at sources.

Those fuller links are especially important in a district this large. The Arizona 2nd includes Flagstaff and many smaller communities spread across northern and eastern Arizona, including parts of the Navajo Nation and other tribal lands. Local concerns such as water, wildfire, and federal land policy often sit alongside national issues, so a one-line guide can only do so much.

The bottom line

The letter that introduced this guide came from a group of Flagstaff-area residents who wanted neighbors to compare the candidates before voting. Their closing message is simple: “Please be an informed voter.”

That is the point of the exercise. The guide does not replace the candidate websites, news coverage, or official election materials. It gives rural Arizonans a fast, neutral reference for a race where the two candidates differ on nearly every issue tested. The links on act-us.org are the next step for anyone who wants to look beyond the snapshot and decide where Crane and Nez truly stand.