Eli Crane

Elijah James Crane^[1] (born January 3, 1980)^[2] is an American politician and businessman elected as the U.S. representative from Arizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Crane defeated Democratic incumbent Tom O'Halleran.^[3]

Eli Crane
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Tom O'Halleran
Personal details
Born	Elijah Crane (1980-01-03) January 3, 1980 (age 44) Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jen Crane
Children	2
Signature
Website	House website
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	2001–2014
Unit	U.S. Navy SEALs SEAL Team 3
Battles/wars	Iraq War

Before entering politics, Crane served in the United States Navy and co-founded Bottle Breacher, which he sold in 2022.

Crane is running for reelection in 2024 against Democratic nominee Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation President.^[4]

Early life and education

Crane was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Yuma.^[5] His father worked as a pharmacist. Crane graduated from Cibola High School in 1998 and studied sociology at Arizona Western College and the University of Arizona.

Career

Crane stated that one week after the September 11 attacks, he dropped out of college and served in the United States Navy^[6][7] from 2001 to 2014.^[8] He was a member of the United States Navy SEALs and was deployed five times.^[9] Three of the five deployments were with the SEALS.^[10]

After leaving the military, Crane co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of .50 caliber cartridge casings. He and his wife pitched the product on an episode of Shark Tank and received investments from Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban.^[11][12] Crane sold Bottle Breacher in 2022.^[13]

U.S. House of Representatives

2022 election

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona § District 2

In 2022, Crane won the Republican nomination for Arizona's 2nd congressional district. The district had previously been the 1st, represented by three-term Democrat Tom O'Halleran. Crane was endorsed by Donald Trump,^[14] and additionally accepted the endorsement of Republican state senator Wendy Rogers before the date of the primary election.^[15][16] Crane won the August Republican primary, defeating state representative Walter Blackman and others.^[17] Crane promoted the false conspiracy theory that there were "massive amounts of fraud" in the 2020 United States presidential election. Crane called upon the Arizona State Legislature to decertify Joe Biden's victory in the state, and for the attorney general of Arizona to launch a criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud.^[18][19] In the general election, Crane unseated O'Halleran by a 54% to 46% margin.^[20][21]

Tenure

Crane did not support Kevin McCarthy for House speaker, and was one of six Republicans to vote against him on every ballot in the initial speaker election in 2023.^[22][23] In the 15th and final round of voting, Crane dropped his support for a different candidate and voted "present".^[24] He would later be one of eight Republicans to support the removal of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.^[25]

Syria

In 2023, Crane was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.^[26][27]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Crane was among the 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.^[28]

Ukraine

In 2023, Crane voted to cut off all military aid to Ukraine.^[29][30]

In 2023, Crane was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.^[31][32]

Removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House

On October 3, 2023, Crane was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House after the latter allowed the passage of a temporary spending bill which did not include any conservative policy.

Israel

Crane voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[33][34]

Conspiracy theories on the Trump assassination attempts

On multiple occasions, Crane has promoted conspiracy theories about both the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July 2024 and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Florida in September 2024. For the first attempted assassination, Crane has promoted the conspiracy theory that the gunman did not act alone, and for the second attempted assassination, Crane has promoted the conspiracy theory that the gunman was an "asset" of a foreign adversary.^[35]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[36]

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus^[37]

Personal life

Crane is Protestant.^[38] He lives in Oro Valley, Arizona.^[13] He is married to Jen Crane and has two daughters. ^[39]

He has served as a brand ambassador for Sig Sauer firearms.^[10]

Electoral history

2022

2022 Arizona's 2nd congressional district Republican primary^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eli Crane	38,681	35.8
	Republican	Walter Blackman	26,399	24.4
	Republican	Mark DeLuzio	18,515	17.1
	Republican	Andy Yates	7,467	6.9
	Republican	John W. Moore	7,327	6.8
	Republican	Steve Krystofiak	5,905	5.5
	Republican	Ron Watkins	3,810	3.5
Total votes			108,104	100

2022 Arizona's 2nd congressional district election^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eli Crane	174,169	53.9
	Democratic	Tom O'Halleran (incumbent)	149,151	46.1
	Independent (Write-in)	Chris Sarappo	76	0.0
Total votes			323,396	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

2024

2024 Arizona's 2nd congressional district Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eli Crane	56,354	79
	Republican	Jack Smith	15,013	21.0
Total votes			71,367	100

2024 Arizona's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eli Crane (incumbent)
	Democratic	Jonathan Nez
Total votes

References

1. "Rep. Eli Crane - R Arizona, 2nd, In Office - Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
2. "Arizona New Members 2023". The Hill. November 17, 2022. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
3. Brunig, Mladen (November 9, 2022). "Republican Crane Wins Arizona House Race, Defeating Democrat O'Halleran". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
4. Becenti, Arlyssa D. "Jonathan Nez defends his presidential record, says he knows district better than incumbent". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
5. "Eli Crane". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
6. "Crane, Eli". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
7. "Eli Crane, AZ Congressional Candidate: America First". The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. WLAC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
8. Askarinam, Leah (April 11, 2022). "How a Little-Known Democrat Tries to Hold On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
9. Hansen, Ronald J. (July 8, 2021). "State Rep. Walt Blackman, former Navy SEAL Eli Crane enter GOP race for Arizona's CD1". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
10. Randazzo, Ryan. "Who is Eli Crane? What to know about the Arizona Republican who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
11. Aleshire, Peter (April 5, 2022). "Crane seeks Republican congressional nomination". Payson Roundup. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
12. Fraioli, Sophia (October 24, 2018). "Kevin O'Leary gets to the bottom of Bottle Breacher's back-order issues on 'Beyond the Tank'". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
13. Alam, Adnan (October 14, 2022). "U.S. House, District 2: Eli Crane doesn't live in district – but is Trump endorsed". Cronkite News. Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
14. Shoaib, Alia (July 23, 2022). "Trump looked surprised when his supporters loudly booed him at an Arizona rally over his Congress endorsement". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
15. Hernandez, Jacob (May 24, 2022). "Trump Makes Call to GOP Fundraiser Held in Show Low". White Mountain Independent. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
16. "Trump Endorsed Sen. Wendy Rogers Endorses Eli Crane for Congress". Eli Crane for Congress. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
17. "Arizona Second Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
18. Beckwith, Ryan Teague (September 6, 2022). "Here Are the 253 Key Political Leaders Who Back Trump's False Claims of Election Fraud". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
19. Rogers, Alex; Zanona, Melanie; Raju, Manu (October 28, 2021). "12 GOP 'Young Guns' embrace Trump's election falsehoods". CNN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
20. "GOP eyes Arizona US House seats in bid to flip control". KTAR News. Associated Press. November 8, 2022. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022.
21. "Arizona Second Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 11, 2022. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022.
22. "Here's how Arizona's 9 House members voted for speaker". KTAR-FM. January 6, 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
23. Lillis, Mike; Brooks, Emily; Schnell, Mychael (January 6, 2023). "The 14 Republicans who switched their votes to McCarthy". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
24. "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Crane. U.S. House of Representatives. January 3, 2023. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
25. Cook Escobar, Molly; Elliott, Kennedy; Levitt, Zach; Murphy, John-Michael; Parlapiano, Alicia; Reinhard, Scott; Shorey, Rachel; Wu, Ashley; Yourish, Yourish (October 3, 2023). "Live Vote Count: House Decides Whether to Oust McCarthy as Speaker". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
26. "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023". Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
27. "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. March 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
28. Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
29. "H.Amdt. 226 (Gaetz) to H.R. 2670: To prohibit security assistance … -- House Vote #304 -- Jul 13, 2023". GovTrack. July 13, 2023. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
30. Metzger, Bryan (July 13, 2023). "Here Are the 70 House Republicans Who Voted to Cut off All US Military Aid to Ukraine". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
31. Fortinsky, Sarah (July 14, 2023). "Almost 50 Democrats Snub Biden with Vote against Cluster Bombs for Ukraine". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
32. "H.Amdt. 243 (Greene) to H.R. 2670: To Prohibit Cluster Munitions ... -- House Vote #317 -- Jul 13, 2023". GovTrack. July 13, 2023. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
33. Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
34. "Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 25, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
35. Karni, Annie (October 5, 2024). "As Lawmaker Claims Trump's Shooting Was Inside Job, G.O.P. Indulges Him". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024.
36. "Elijah Crane". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
37. Roche, Darragh (November 10, 2022). "Full list of Freedom Caucus Members after 2022 midterms results". Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
38. "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
39. "About Eli-Eli Crane". house.gov. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
40. "2022 United States House of Representatives Republican primary election results" (PDF). azsos.gov. Secretary of State of Arizona. 2022. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
41. "2022 United States House of Representatives general election results" (PDF). azsos.gov. Secretary of State of Arizona. 2022. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2022.

External links

• Representative Eli Crane official U.S. House website
• Eli Crane for Congress campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Ann Kirkpatrick	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 2nd congressional district 2023–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Mike Collins	United States representatives by seniority 360th	Succeeded by Jasmine Crockett