Elijah James Crane (born January 3, 1980) 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. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Freedom Caucus, the most conservative House Republican group.
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 was first elected to Congress in 2022, defeating Democratic incumbent Tom O'Halleran. He was re-elected in 2024 against Democratic nominee Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation president.
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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 Arizona's 2nd congressional district. The district had previously been the 1st, represented by three-term Democrat Tom O'Halleran. However, it had been made significantly more Republican in redistricting, with the addition of heavily Republican Prescott. Crane was endorsed by Donald Trump. 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.
In 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.
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. In 2026, Crane introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have blocked Department of Defense funding from going to Ukraine; the amendment failed by a 76-350 vote.
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, (with an) 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?"
In March 2026, after the second Trump administration launched the 2026 Iran war, Crane said "I'm really, really hopeful this doesn't turn into a boots-on-the-ground situation. My biggest concern this whole time is that this would turn into another long Middle Eastern war. Though I don't want to try and take away any of the president's ability to carry out this operation, I know a lot of our supporters and a lot of members of Congress are very concerned." In June 2026, he voted against a war powers resolution that would have limited the war in Iran until congressional authorization for it was obtained.
Crane was among the 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
Committee on Homeland Security
Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement
Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation
Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs
Caucus memberships
Freedom Caucus
Congressional Western Caucus
Sharia-Free America Caucus
Personal life
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.