Overview:
Native News Online is closely tracking five pivotal Election Day races featuring Native American candidates seeking historic breakthroughs in representation at the state and federal levels.
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Today is Election Day in America. If you have not already voted, please exercise your hard-fought right to vote. Native Americans did not always have that right, and even today, barriers to voting persist in some communities.
It is also Election Day on the Navajo Nation reservation. The Navajo Nation will elect a new president. Navajo Nation voters will choose their next president in a closely watched race between two Diné candidates: Justin Jones, an attorney and U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Rock Point, Arizona, and Crystalyne Curley, the current Speaker of the 25th Navajo Nation Council and the first woman to hold that position.
Among the many races being decided today, Native News Online will be closely following five contests featuring Native American candidates seeking significant political offices. Here are the five races we will be watching tonight:
Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) — Former U.S. Congresswoman and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is running for governor of New Mexico. If elected, she would make history as the first Native American woman elected governor of a state.
Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) — Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota. If elected, she would make history as the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Mary Peltola (Yup’ik) — Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola is running for the U.S. Senate in her home state of Alaska, challenging incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. An unusual twist in this race is that another candidate named Dan Sullivan — Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher — is also running for the same Senate seat.
Alaska is known for taking longer than many states to report its election results. It could be days, if not a week or two, before the outcome of this race becomes clear.
Jonathan Nez (Navajo) — Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez is running for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Eli Crane. If elected, Nez would become the first Native American elected to Congress from Arizona.
Sean McCann (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) — Michigan state Sen. Sean McCann is mounting a campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga in Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District. If elected, McCann would become the first Native American elected to Congress from Michigan.
These five races represent important moments for Native representation in American politics. Native News Online will be following the results and reporting on the outcomes as they become available.
