Eli Crane


Elijah James Crane is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Navy SEAL serving as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Crane was first elected to Congress after defeating Democratic incumbent Tom O'Halleran in 2022.
Before entering politics, Crane served in the United States Navy and co-founded Bottle Breacher, which he sold in 2022. The company, which attracted financial support on a 2014 episode of Shark Tank, produced patriotic themed bottle openers made from used bullets.
Crane won re-election in 2024 against Democratic nominee Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation president.

Early life and education

Crane was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Yuma. His father worked as a pharmacist. Crane graduated from Cibola High School in 1998. He studied sociology at Arizona Western College and the University of Arizona, but did not graduate.

Career

Crane stated that one week after the September 11 attacks, he dropped out of college and joined the United States Navy. He served in the Navy from 2001 to 2014. He was a member of the United States Navy SEALs and was deployed five times. Three of the five deployments were with the SEALS.
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 of Shark Tank and received investments from Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban. Crane sold Bottle Breacher in 2022.

U.S. House of Representatives

2022 election

In 2022, Crane won the Republican nomination for. The district had previously been the 1st, represented by three-term Democrat Tom O'Halleran. Crane was endorsed by Donald Trump, and additionally accepted the endorsement of far-right Republican state senator Wendy Rogers before the date of the primary election. Crane won the August Republican primary, defeating state representative Walter Blackman and others. Crane promoted the 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. During the campaign, Crane eschewed the mainstream media, only granting interviews to conservative leaning publications and influencers. He also turned down an offer to debate O'Halloran.
the general election, Crane unseated O'Halleran by a 54% to 46% margin.

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

Foreign policy

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.
In 2023, Crane voted to cut off all military aid to Ukraine. That same year, he was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Crane voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
In a 2025 House subcommittee hearing on U.S. national security featuring "a panel of mostly hawkish experts", Crane quoted John 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, 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?"

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.

Theories about the Trump assassination attempts

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

Attempted impeachment of federal judge Paul Engelmayer

In February 2025, Crane introduced articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, accusing him of judicial overreach for blocking the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the individual financial records in the Treasury Department of Americans. The following month, 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.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:
Crane is Protestant. He lives in Oro Valley in Pima County, Arizona, which is part of the state's neighboring 6th congressional district. He is married to Jen Crane and has two daughters.
He has served as a brand ambassador for Sig Sauer firearms.

Electoral history

2022

2024