Kevin Abourezk
ICT
One of the two Native candidates seeking congressional seats in Arizona will continue into November along with several other Native candidates who were seeking election in more than two dozen races in Tuesday’s primary election.
Chris James was unsuccessful in gaining the Democratic party nomination in the state’s 5th Congressional District.
“We didn’t get the results we wanted, but our voters made it clear they want someone to focus on the issue that most affects them and right now that’s the cost of everything,” James said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the conversations and hospitality of voters who welcomed me and our volunteers into their homes. I’ll never stop working to elevate those voices in any way I can and to uplift the need for Americans to come together during this time of great divides for the common good.”
James, a descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and chief executive officer of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, won 22 percent of the vote, while his opponent, nurse and healthcare advocate Elizabeth Lee, won 65 percent of the vote and a third candidate, army veteran Brian Hualde, earned 13 percent of the Democratic vote.
Lee had raised the most money in the race, according to the most recent mandatory filings; $153,000 to James’ $135,000. Hualde trailed his opponents by a wide margin in fundraising.
James said it will be important that politicians and citizens work together to ensure President Donald Trump doesn’t interfere with the general election.
“We must respect the results of elections, even when they don’t turn out the way we hoped,” he said. “I look forward to helping continue to make that case.”
Two of the other 27 Native candidates who were seeking elected office Tuesday spoke to ICT about their races, one of which they won and one of which they lost.
Clara Pratte, Diné, is running for Arizona Corporation Commission, a state organization that oversees utility corporations.
Pratt won 53 percent of the vote, while the other Democrat in the race, Jonathon Hill, earned 47 percent of the vote. Both will advance to the general election where they will face Republican incumbent Kevin Thompson and a second Republican nominee who has yet to be named as the race for the second Republican nomination was too close to call as of Wednesday morning.
State lawmaker Ralph Heap led incumbent Commissioner Nick Myers by less than 1 percent as of early Wednesday morning.
All of the nominees will vie for two open seats on the commission on Nov. 3.
Pratt told ICT she is seeking the office in order to ensure Arizona utility corporations keep rates as low as possible for consumers, something that she said the current five-person commission has failed to accomplish.
“There’s no such thing as conservative electricity or liberal electricity,” she said. “We all need electricity. We need our utilities to thrive.”
Naomi Miguel, Tohono O’odham, lost her race for the Arizona House of Representatives District 23 Democratic nomination, earning 18 percent of the vote compared to primary winners Mariana Sandoval, who won 38 percent of the vote, and Emilia Cortez, who won 26 percent of the vote.
The 23rd state house district has two open seats, and Sandoval and Cortez will now face Republican nominees Michele Peña and Gary Garcia Snyder in November.
Miguel said she sought the seat in part to make it easier for rural voters on her reservation to get state ID cards, something that she said took her mother nine attempts to obtain because of bureaucratic entanglements.
She said she also sought the nomination in order to create a tribal relations committee within the Arizona House of Representatives and to protect Indigenous and Hispanic people in her state from overly aggressive federal immigration enforcement actions.
The Tohono O’odham Nation Reservation straddles the US-Mexico border west of Tucson and has long been the focus of border patrol enforcement. Miguel said she was once verbally harassed by border patrol agents as a teenager, and that experience led her to become involved in politics, which has included serving as a congressional staff member and a political appointee under the Biden administration and earning a master’s degree in public administration and policy.
She said protecting her tribe’s citizens from unfair border patrol tactics will require strong representation within state government.
“I know that it’s gonna come down to a state level and making sure that we have representation for not only our tribal communities but our rural communities as well,” she said. “My hope is that we continue to work together with our Democratic nominees to ensure that our state legislature turns blue this November.”
As of 10:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, the Arizona Secretary of State said 96 percent of precincts had reported their election results and that the state had a voter turnout of just 23 percent.
The unofficial results below for Tuesday’s primary election in Arizona were called by the state’s election office.
In Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, former Navajo Nation Chairman Jonathan Nez ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and will advance to the November general election where he will face U.S. Navy veteran and incumbent Eli Crane. Nez lost to Crane in 2024.
Other Native candidates in Arizona primaries
There were more than two dozen races happening in Arizona with Native candidates that ICT watched, according to the ICT and Advance Native Political Leadership database.
Here are the results of those races that involved seats within state legislative bodies.
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Brian Garcia, Arizona House of Representatives District 8 – Pascua Yaqui Tribe
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Sally Ann Gonzales, Arizona House of Representatives District 20 – Pascua Yaqui Tribe
- LOST: Claudia Kline, Arizona House of Representatives District 8 – Yavapai Apache
- LOST: Angela Maloney, Diné, running for Arizona House of Representatives District 6
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Mae Peshlakai, Arizona House of Representatives District 6 – Diné
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Ian Teller, Arizona House of Representatives District 6 – Diné
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Mike Montiel, Arizona State Senate District 7 – Pascua Yaqui Tribe
- NOVEMBER BALLOT: Jamescita Peshlakai, Arizona State Senate District 6 – Diné
- LOST: Myron Tsosie, Arizona State Senate District 6 – Diné
Four Native candidates were not on the primary ballot due to withdrawing from the race, the race being canceled, or being disqualified. Those candidates were: Deydrek “Dey” Scott, Theresa Hathalie, Roberta “Birdie” Cano, and Eric Descheenie.
Here are the other races that ICT will be updating:
- Samceita Begay, Diné, running for Apache County Clerk of the Superior Court
- Jay Yellowhorse, Diné, running for Apache County Justice of the Peace, Northstar Precinct 3
- Wallace James Jr. Diné, running for Ganado Unified School District Governing Board
- Esteban Fuerte, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, running for Guadalupe Town Council
- Joan Gray, Diné, running for Kayenta Unified School District Governing Board
- Royd Lee, Diné, running for Kayenta Unified School District Governing Board
- Deborah Ann Begay, Diné, running for Maricopa County Justice of the Peace Moon Valley Precinct
- Jennifer Jermaine, White Earth Nation, running for Maricopa County Justice of the Peace San Marcos precinct
- Susie Nelson, Diné, running for Navajo County Justice of the Peace Kayenta Precinct 4
- Michael Mazzocco, Delaware Nation, running for Phoenix City Council District 4
- Ceyshe Napa, Diné, running for Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board
- Victoria Steele, Seneca Nation of Indians, running for Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1
- Sara Mae Williams, Tohono O’odham, running for Pima County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3
- Bessie Allen, Diné, running for Pinoñ Unified School District Governing Board
- Candy Lupe, White Mountain Apache, running for Pinoñ Unified School District Governing Board
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to ICT for further updates on the races that we have been following.
