Incumbent Eli Crane (R) defeated Jack Smith (R) in the Republican primary in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District

Incumbent Eli Crane (R) defeated Jack Smith (R) in the Republican primary in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District on Jul. 30, 2024. As of Jul. 31, 2024, Crane had 79.0% of the vote and Smith had 21.0%.

Crane was one of eight House Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy (R) as Speaker of the House in October 2023. According to Politico, McCarthy allies identified Crane as one of three Republicans most vulnerable to a primary challenge as part of an effort “to marshal the former speaker’s considerable donor network on behalf of Republican primary candidates who are deemed strong enough to pose a credible threat to one of the eight.”

Crane said Smith was running because “I kept my word when I stood up to the GOP Establishment, and voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker…doing the right thing in a place where the status quo is reliant on wrongdoing never earns you too many friends. In fact, it has now earned me a primary challenger that has the full backing of the RINO establishment.” In an interview with the Sedona Red Rock News, Smith declined to say whether he would have voted to remove McCarthy.

First elected in 2022, Crane was a veteran and owner of a manufacturing business. Crane said he was Donald Trump’s strongest supporter and “a faith-oriented, family man…pro-life, pro-second amendment, and unafraid to take a stand against cancel culture and the radical left.” Crane said he was being “targeted by the uniparty for fighting for AZ-02…Once they realize you’re not going to join their team, they move to get rid of you however they can.”

Smith was a veteran and former Yavapai County Commissioner who served as the Arizona state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development program under President Donald Trump (R). Smith said he was running because “we need a conservative who understands rural Arizona and is willing to fight for rural Arizona,” criticizing Crane for living in a Tucson suburb. Smith ran on his experience, saying, “If you really roll your sleeves up and dig in, you can really make an impact. I did that as a county supervisor.”

As of Apr. 30, 2024, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the general election Safe/Solid Republican. Crane defeated incumbent Tom O’Halleran (D) 53.9%–46.1% in 2022.

All 435 seats are up for election. Republicans have a 220 to 213 majority with two vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 53.2%-45.3%.