Eli Crane

American politician (born 1980)

Eli Crane
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arizona's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byTom O'Halleran
Personal details
Born
Elijah James Crane

(1980-01-03) January 3, 1980 (age 44)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJen Crane
Children2
Signature
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service2001–2014
UnitUnited States Navy SEALs

Elijah James Crane (born January 3, 1980)[1] 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 served in the United States Navy SEALs and co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of .50 caliber shell casings. In the 2022 House elections, Crane defeated incumbent Democrat Tom O'Halleran.[2]

Early life and education

Crane was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Yuma.[3] 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. One week after the September 11 attacks, he dropped out of college and enlisted in the United States Navy.[4][5]

Career

Crane served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2014.[6] He graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training class 256.[7] After SEAL Qualification Training (SQT), he received the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the Special Warfare Insignia. During his career, he was a member of the United States Navy SEALs and was deployed five times.[8]

After leaving the military, Crane co-founded Bottle Breacher, a company that manufactures bottle openers made of .50 caliber shell casings. He and his wife pitched the product on an episode of Shark Tank and received investments from Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban.[9][10] Crane sold Bottle Breacher in 2022.[11]

U.S. House of Representatives

2022 election

During his 2022 campaign for Arizona's 2nd congressional district, Crane was endorsed by Donald Trump.[12] Crane additionally accepted the endorsement of far-right state senator Wendy Rogers before the date of the primary election.[13][14] Crane won the August Republican primary, defeating state representative Walter Blackman and others.[15] 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.[16][17]

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.[18][19] In the 15th and final round of voting, Crane dropped his support for a different candidate and voted "present".[20] He would later be one of eight Republicans to support the removal of Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership.[21]

On July 13, 2023, Crane used the phrase "colored people" during a debate over a bill amendment he proposed that he said would prevent the consideration of race in the military. Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio immediately had the comment stricken from the Congressional Record. Crane later stated that he "misspoke" when he used the phrase.[22]

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.[23][24]

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.[25]

Ukraine

In 2023, Crane voted for a moratorium on aid to Ukraine.[26][27]

In 2023, Crane was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.[28][29]

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.[30][31]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[32]

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Crane is Protestant.[34] He lives in Oro Valley, Arizona.[11]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Eli Crane
Year Office Party Primary General Result Swing Ref.
Total % P. Total % P.
2022 U.S. representative Republican 38,681 35.78% 1st 174,169 53.86% 1st Won Gain [35]

References

  1. ^ "Arizona New Members 2023". The Hill. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ Brunig, Mladen (November 9, 2022). "Republican Crane Wins Arizona House Race, Defeating Democrat O'Halleran". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Eli Crane". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Crane, Eli". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Library of Congress. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Eli Crane, AZ Congressional Candidate: America First". The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. WLAC. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Askarinam, Leah (April 11, 2022). "How a Little-Known Democrat Tries to Hold On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Eli Crane". September 13, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022.
  8. ^ 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. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  9. ^ Aleshire, Peter (April 5, 2022). "Crane seeks Republican congressional nomination". Payson Roundup. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Fraioli, Sophia (October 24, 2018). "Kevin O'Leary gets to the bottom of Bottle Breacher's back-order issues on 'Beyond the Tank'". CNBC. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. ^ 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. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Shoaib, Alia (July 23, 2022). "Trump looked surprised when his supporters loudly booed him at an Arizona rally over his Congress endorsement". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  13. ^ Hernandez, Jacob (May 24, 2022). "Trump Makes Call to GOP Fundraiser Held in Show Low". White Mountain Independent. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Arizona Second Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. August 2, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "Here Are the 253 Key Political Leaders Who Back Trump's False Claims of Election Fraud". Bloomberg News. September 6, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Rogers, Alex; Zanona, Melanie; Raju, Manu. "12 GOP 'Young Guns' embrace Trump's election falsehoods". CNN. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "Here's how Arizona's 9 House members voted for speaker". KTAR-FM. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Lillis, Mike; Brooks, Emily; Schnell, Mychael (January 6, 2023). "The 14 Republicans who switched their votes to McCarthy". The Hill. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  20. ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Crane. U.S. House of Representatives. January 3, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Metzger, Bryan (July 13, 2023). "GOP congressman declares amendment has 'nothing to do' with 'colored people' on the House floor". Business Insider. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  23. ^ "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023".
  24. ^ "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  25. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  26. ^ "H.Amdt. 226 (Gaetz) to H.R. 2670: To prohibit security assistance … -- House Vote #304 -- Jul 13, 2023". GovTrack. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  27. ^ Metzger, Bryan (July 13, 2023). "Here Are the 70 House Republicans Who Voted to Cut off All US Military Aid to Ukraine". Business Insider. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  28. ^ Fortinsky, Sarah (July 14, 2023). "Almost 50 Democrats Snub Biden with Vote against Cluster Bombs for Ukraine". The Hill.
  29. ^ "H.Amdt. 243 (Greene) to H.R. 2670: To Prohibit Cluster Munitions ... -- House Vote #317 -- Jul 13, 2023". GovTrack. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  30. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  32. ^ "Elijah Crane". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  33. ^ Roche, Darragh (November 10, 2022). "Full list of Freedom Caucus Members after 2022 midterms results". Newsweek. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  34. ^ "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress". Pew Research Center. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  35. ^ Primary election:
    • "2022 United States House of Representatives Republican primary election results" (PDF). azsos.gov. Secretary of State of Arizona. 2022. p. 2. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
    General election:
    • "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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eli Crane.
  • Representative Eli Crane official U.S. House website
  • Eli Crane for Congress campaign website
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
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