Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will campaign Saturday in the capital of Window Rock on the Navajo Nation. He’ll be the first candidate on a presidential ticket to campaign there this cycle, and perhaps ever.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren explained that his staff has been fact-checking whether such a candidate has ever stopped to visit the 27,000-square-mile reservation along the campaign trail.
“We can’t find it. Tomorrow is historic,” Nygren told KJZZ News on Friday. “That just means that Navajo matters when it comes to the vote.”
To his knowledge, the Trump-Vance campaign has not reached out. Nygren shared “if they want to come out, they can come out,” while offering the Republican presidential ticket words of encouragement to do so “because representation does matter.”
Arizona Democratic Party tribal campaign officials internally expressed worry that if neither Walz nor Vice President Kamala Harris made an appearance, they’d chance losing this key bloc of votes in November.
Earlier this month, Walz spent time with the Gila River Indian Community, just south of Phoenix. With the presidential election less than 10 days away, now he’ll meet with Navajo voters more than 250 miles northeast of the Valley.
“That’s all people are going to remember,” Nygren added. “They’re going to say, ‘Harris-Walz took the time to be out in Navajo. That’s where the support's got to be.’”
Nygren and Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya are among more than 70 tribal leaders backing the Harris-Walz ticket in their personal capacity.
The Trump-Vance campaign held a press call Saturday afternoon with former Arizona State Sen. Carlyle Begay, Republican Congressman Eli Crane and former Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, reacting to Walz’s visit in real time.
Begay is a former Democrat-turned-Republican, who once falsely shared on social media that he had been picked to become the White House Advisor on Indian Affairs under the Trump administration in 2017.
He stressed that tribes have a role in the electoral process, but it shouldn’t be squarely dictated by the “political convenience” of Democrats like Walz in Window Rock or President Joe Biden at the Gila River Indian Community amid his diplomatic trip to formally apologize for the legacy of federal Indian boarding schools.
“The Trump administration, his first four years, can speak on the record what they accomplished,” Begay said, “and I think, “and I’m pretty certain, there’s a commitment for Indian Country to have a seat at the table.”
“We can’t be duped again. Our people have been voting Democrat for over five decades, and nothing’s changed on our great land here,” Lizer added. “So yes, we love President Trump. We need Trump here on the Navajo Nation, boots on the ground.”
Former President Donald Trump has made several campaign stops across Arizona, including Phoenix, Tucson, Glendale, Prescott Valley and Tempe, but hasn’t visited any tribal reservation yet. His campaign wouldn’t confirm whether any trip to the Navajo Nation has been planned ahead of Election Day.
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