American politician (born 1980)
Elijah James Crane [ 1] [ 2] United States Navy SEAL serving as theU.S. representative forArizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of theRepublican Party , Crane was first elected to Congress after defeatingDemocratic incumbentTom O'Halleran in2022 .[ 3]
Before entering politics, Crane served in theUnited States Navy and co-founded Bottle Breacher, which he sold in 2022. The company, which attracted financial support on a 2014 episode ofShark Tank
Crane won re-election in2024 against Democratic nomineeJonathan Nez , the formerNavajo Nation president.[ 4]
Early life and education [ edit ] Crane was born inTucson, Arizona , and raised inYuma .[ 5] pharmacist . Crane graduated fromCibola High School in 1998. He studied sociology atArizona Western College and theUniversity of Arizona , but did not graduate.
Crane stated that one week after theSeptember 11 attacks , he dropped out of college and joined theUnited States Navy .[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] United States Navy SEALs and was deployed five times.[ 9] [ 10]
After leaving the military, Crane co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of bullet casings. He and his wife pitched the product on an episode ofShark Tank Kevin O'Leary andMark Cuban .[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
U.S. House of Representatives [ edit ] In 2022, Crane won the Republican nomination forArizona's 2nd congressional district Tom O'Halleran . Crane was endorsed byDonald Trump ,[ 14] state senator Wendy Rogers before the date of the primary election.[ 15] [ 16] state representative Walter Blackman and others.[ 17] conspiracy theory that there were "massive amounts of fraud" in the2020 United States presidential election . Crane called upon theArizona State Legislature to decertifyJoe Biden 's victory in the state, and for theattorney general of Arizona to launch a criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud.[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21]
Crane did not supportKevin McCarthy forHouse speaker , and was one of six Republicans to vote against him on every ballot in theinitial speaker election in 2023 .[ 22] [ 23] [ 24] removal of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.[ 25]
In 2023, Crane was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[ 26] [ 27]
In 2023, Crane voted to cut off all military aid toUkraine .[ 28] [ 29] cluster munitions toUkraine .[ 30] [ 31]
Crane voted to provideIsrael with support following the2023 Hamas attack on Israel .[ 32] [ 33]
In a 2025 House subcommittee hearing on U.S. national security featuring "a panel of mostly hawkish experts", Crane quotedJohn Quincy Adams , saying "The United States have no business in making conquests, nor in aspiring to any kind of empire." Crane added, "Does it concern you guys that we're $36 trillion in debt, (with an) annual deficit of $2 trillion as we sit here and talk about the United States' global involvement? Do any of you guys wonder when that tipping point is going to be?"[ 34]
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 [ edit ] Crane was among the 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[ 35]
Conspiracy theories on the Trump assassination attempts [ edit ] On multiple occasions, Crane has promoted conspiracy theories about both of the 2024 assassination attempts against Donald Trump, inPennsylvania in July and inFlorida in September. For the first attempted assassination, Crane has promoted the conspiracy theory thatthe 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.[ 36]
Attempted impeachment of federal judge Paul Engelmayer [ edit ] In February 2025, Crane introducedarticles of impeachment against U.S. District JudgePaul Engelmayer of theSouthern District of New York , accusing him ofjudicial overreach for blocking theTrump administration 'sDepartment of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the individual financial records in theTreasury Department of Americans.[ 37] Elon Musk , who leads DOGE, contributed the maximum allowable donation to Crane and other Republicans who supported the impeachment of federal judges who had ruled against the Trump administration.[ 38]
Committee assignments [ edit ] For the118th Congress :[ 39]
Crane isProtestant .[ 42] Oro Valley inPima County ,Arizona , which is part of the state's neighboring6th congressional district .[ 13] [ 43]
He has served as a brand ambassador forSig Sauer firearms.[ 10]
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
^ "Rep. Eli Crane - R Arizona, 2nd, In Office - Biography" .LegiStorm . RetrievedOctober 26, 2024 .^ "Arizona New Members 2023" .The Hill Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. RetrievedNovember 18, 2022 .^ Brunig, Mladen (November 9, 2022)."Republican Crane Wins Arizona House Race, Defeating Democrat O'Halleran" .Bloomberg News . RetrievedNovember 30, 2022 . ^ Becenti, Arlyssa D."Jonathan Nez defends his presidential record, says he knows district better than incumbent" .The Arizona Republic . RetrievedOctober 21, 2024 . ^ "Eli Crane" .Ballotpedia Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 .^ "Crane, Eli" .Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Library of Congress .Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. RetrievedFebruary 4, 2023 .^ "Eli Crane, AZ Congressional Candidate: America First" .The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show .WLAC .Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 4, 2023 .^ 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. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^ 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. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^a b 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. RetrievedOctober 17, 2024 . ^ Aleshire, Peter (April 5, 2022)."Crane seeks Republican congressional nomination" .Payson Roundup Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^ 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. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^a b 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. RetrievedOctober 12, 2023 . ^ 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. RetrievedAugust 3, 2022 . ^ 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. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2023 . ^ "Trump Endorsed Sen. Wendy Rogers Endorses Eli Crane for Congress" .Eli Crane for Congress . Archived fromthe original on December 7, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2022 .^ "Arizona Second Congressional District Primary Election Results" .The New York Times . August 2, 2022.Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. RetrievedNovember 30, 2022 .^ 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. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2023 . ^ 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. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2023 . ^ "GOP eyes Arizona US House seats in bid to flip control" .KTAR News .Associated Press . November 8, 2022. Archived fromthe original on November 8, 2022.^ "Arizona Second Congressional District Election Results" .The New York Times . November 11, 2022.Archived from the original on November 11, 2022.^ "Here's how Arizona's 9 House members voted for speaker" .KTAR-FM Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2023 .^ 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. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2023 . ^ "Committees and Caucuses" .Representative Crane . U.S. House of Representatives. January 3, 2023.Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. RetrievedApril 12, 2023 .^ 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. RetrievedOctober 3, 2023 . ^ "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. RetrievedMarch 10, 2023 .^ "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. RetrievedApril 6, 2023 .^ "H.Amdt. 226 (Gaetz) to H.R. 2670: To prohibit security assistance … -- House Vote #304 -- Jul 13, 2023" .GovTrack Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. RetrievedJuly 13, 2023 .^ 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. RetrievedJuly 14, 2023 . ^ 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. RetrievedJuly 22, 2023 . ^ "H.Amdt. 243 (Greene) to H.R. 2670: To Prohibit Cluster Munitions ... -- House Vote #317 -- Jul 13, 2023" .GovTrack Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. RetrievedJuly 16, 2023 .^ 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. RetrievedOctober 30, 2023 . ^ "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. RetrievedOctober 30, 2023 .^ Sobczak, Aaron (February 26, 2025)."GOP Rep. Eli Crane: Do not aspire to 'empire' .responsiblestatecraft.org . Quincy Institute. RetrievedMay 8, 2025 . ^ 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. RetrievedJune 6, 2023 . ^ 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.^ Gersony, Laura; Covarrubias Jr., Rey (February 27, 2025)."This Arizona Republican's norm-defying impeachment effort gets him noticed by Elon Musk" .Arizona Republic . ^ Haberman, Maggie; Schleifer, Theodore; Karni, Annie (March 19, 2025)."Musk Donates to G.O.P. Members of Congress Who Support Impeaching Judges" .The New York Times .ISSN 0362-4331 . RetrievedMarch 23, 2025 . ^ "Elijah Crane" . Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. RetrievedApril 22, 2023 .^ Roche, Darragh (November 10, 2022)."Full list of Freedom Caucus Members after 2022 midterms results" .Newsweek .Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. RetrievedDecember 3, 2022 . ^ "Caucus Memberships" . Congressional Western Caucus. RetrievedApril 7, 2025 .^ "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress" .Pew Research Center .Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. RetrievedMarch 6, 2023 .^ "About Eli-Eli Crane" .house.gov .Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. RetrievedDecember 4, 2024 .^ "2022 United States House of Representatives Republican primary election results" (PDF) .azsos.gov .Secretary of State of Arizona . 2022. p. 2. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on November 9, 2022. RetrievedDecember 17, 2022 .^ "2022 United States House of Representatives general election results" (PDF) .azsos.gov .Secretary of State of Arizona . 2022. p. 1. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on January 16, 2023. RetrievedDecember 17, 2022 .^ "STATE OF ARIZONA OFFICIAL CANVASS" (PDF) .azsos.gov . Phoenix: Arizona Secretary of State. November 22, 2024. p. 6.Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2025 .Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Eli Crane .
Territorial (1863–1912)
Oneat-large seat (1912–1943)
Two at-large seats (1943–1949)
Districts (1949–present)(3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013)
