Kalle Benallie
ICT
History could be made this November for the Navajo Nation as the tribe holds its presidential election in November.
Current Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, is running for reelection along with 14 other nominees. Three women, current Speaker Crystalyne Curley, Emily Ellison and Debbie Nez-Manuel, could become the first female president of the Navajo Nation if elected.
Peterson Zah was the first president elected in 1991.
Here are the nominees for president of the Navajo Nation:
Crystalyne Curley
Curley became the first woman to be speaker of the Navajo Nation Council in 2023. She was previously the senior public information office for the former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez. She was also Miss Navajo Nation from 2011 to 2012.
Debbie Nez-Manuel
Nez-Manuel previously ran for election to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2020 and for Arizona State Senate in 2018. She lost both Democratic primaries. She served on the Arizona Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force.
Emily Ellison
Ellison previously ran for president in 2018 and 2022. Ellison was honored by the Peace Corps in 2014 for her work as an education volunteer in China.
Myron Lizer
Lizer was the former vice president of the Navajo Nation from 2019 and 2023 under President Jonathan Nez. He was president of Navajo Westerners Ace Hardware Stores and Lumber Yards and an accountant for the Southern Ute Growth Fund.
Frank Dayish Jr.
Dayish Jr. was the former vice president of the Navajo Nation from 2003 and 2007 under President Joe Shirley. He was the chief executive officer of the Navajo Nation Housing Authority and the director of division of acquisitions management and contracts for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. He previously ran for president in 2022. He is also a Marine veteran.
Arvin Trujillo
Trujillo is the Navajo Nation executive administrator, heading the executive branch’s strategic planning and implementation efforts. He was the manager for government relations at the Four Corners Power Plant. He was the executive director of the Navajo Division of Natural Resources for Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye’s administration. He also served an interim position as the chief of staff for Begaye. He was head of the division of natural resources for Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley’s administration.
Justin Jones
Jones has his own private law practice and is a Marine veteran. Jones served in several leadership roles in schools and was a chief judge for the Courts of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. In 2025, Jones, according to the Navajo Times, represented two Navajo-owned entities who were seeking information on how Navajo Nation officials used housing and mortgage-assistance funds.
Alexander Chambers
Chambers is currently pursuing a law degree at Purdue Global to specialize in tribal and corporate law. He previously ran for mayor of Farmington, New Mexico in 2023 but was disqualified due to an address issue. He is a U.S. Small Business Administration advisor, former U.S. Federal Correctional Officer and restaurant owner.
Andrew Curley
Curley is an assistant professor in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment at the University of Arizona. He worked previously at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Geography as an assistant professor.
Kevin L. Cody
Cody previously ran for president in 2018 and 2022.
Jordan Begay
Begay has leadership experience in healthcare and was a social worker for the Navajo Nation Division for Children and Family Services.
Other candidates for the president are Johnny Russell Jr., Larry Noble, Tom T. Chee and Donovan Begay.