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The Navajo Nation presidential election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Ben Shelly won the election. [1]
The general election was held between New Mexico State Senator Lynda Lovejoy and outgoing Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly.
The primary election was held on August 3, 2010. Lynda Lovejoy won a plurality of the vote, becoming the first woman to do so. Ben Shelly came in second place. The primary election included nine other candidates. This was the first Navajo Nation presidential election in which both candidates, Lovejoy and Shelly, were residents of the Eastern part of the Navajo Nation. [2]
Ben Shelly became the first Vice President of the Navajo Nation to be elected president. [3] Had she been elected, Lynda Lovejoy would have become the first female president of the Navajo Nation. [4]
Previously, during the 2006 presidential election Joe Shirley Jr. had been re-elected to a second term over challenger Lynda Lovejoy. On July 9, 2010, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court ruled that Shirley could not seek a third consecutive term as president. [5]
State Senator Lynda Lovejoy, who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2006, easily defeated eleven other candidates with 17,137 votes, becoming the first woman to win a Navajo Nation presidential primary. [2] Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly came in second place and qualified for the general election with 7,763 votes. Donald Benally of Shiprock placed third followed by the rest of the candidates. [2]
Voter turnout was relatively low, at just 43.84% of registered voters. [2] An estimated 48,511 of the 110,645 registered voters participated in the primary election. [2]
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Lynda Lovejoy | 17,137 | 35.7 | |
Ben Shelly | 7,763 | 16.2 | |
Donald Benally | 6,082 | 12.7 | |
Rex Lee Jim | 4,224 | 8.8 | |
Sharon Clahchischilliage | 3,139 | 6.5 | |
Arbin Mitchell | 2,809 | 5.8 | |
D. Harrison Tsosie | 2,718 | 5.7 | |
Dale Tsosie | 2,142 | 4.5 | |
Daniel Peaches | 749 | 1.6 | |
Anthony Begay | 620 | 1.3 | |
Jerry Todacheenie | 620 | 1.0 | |
Write-in candidates | 290 | 0.4 | |
Total votes | 48,511 |
Poll Source | Dates Administered | Lynda Lovejoy | Ben Shelly |
---|---|---|---|
General Poll | January 10, 2010 | 51% | 49% |
Poll Source | Dates Administered | Rex Lee Jim | Lynda Lovejoy |
---|---|---|---|
General Poll | January 10, 2010 | 45% | 44% |
With 109 of the 110 chapters reporting, Ben Shelly was ahead of Linda Lovejoy with 52.7% vs. 47.3% of all counted votes. Shelly claimed victory and promised voters in the Gorman Hall at the Window Rock Sports Center that "I will work with you. We will work together." Lovejoy demanded a recount. [9]
The Navajo Nation Police is the law enforcement agency on the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States. It is under the Navajo Division of Public Safety. It is headed by a Chief of Police, six Police Captains and eight Police Lieutenants. It includes: Internal Affairs, Patrol, K-9 Unit, Police diving, Tactical Operations Team, Traffic Unit, Fiscal management, Recruitment, and Training Divisions. The Navajo Nation Police are responsible for seven districts: Chinle, Crownpoint, Dilkon, Kayenta, Shiprock, Tuba City, and Window Rock. There are also several substations in each district ranging from one-man substations or up to five officers each. Currently, there are 210 sworn police officers, 28 criminal investigators, and 279 civilians acting as support staff for the department. There are approximately 1.9 police officers per 1,000 people and one officer is responsible for patrolling 70 square miles (180 km2) of reservation land. The Navajo Nation Police are funded by federal contracts and grants and general Navajo Nation funds. This police department is one of only two large Native American police Departments with more than 100 sworn officers in the United States.
The Navajo Nation Council is the Legislative Branch of the Navajo Nation government. The council meets four times per year, with additional special sessions, at the Navajo Nation Council Chamber, which is in Window Rock, Arizona.
Joe Shirley Jr. is a Navajo politician who is the only two-term President of the Navajo Nation. He served as president from 2003 to 2011. He lives in Chinle, Arizona, and is Tódíchʼíiʼnii, born for Tábąąhá.
Rezball, short for "reservation ball," is a style of basketball associated with Native Americans, particularly at the high school level in the Southwestern United States, where many of the Indian reservations were created in the country.
Thomas Atcitty was an American politician and educator who served in the New Mexico House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party, 2nd Vice President of the Navajo Nation, and briefly served as the 3rd President of the Navajo Nation. He was a member of the Navajo Nation.
Miss Navajo Nation is a pageant that has been held annually on the Navajo Nation, United States, since 1952.
The Navajo Nation Presidential elections took place on November 7, 2006. Primary elections took place on August 8, 2006. Incumbent President Joe Shirley Jr. was re-elected, defeating 11 candidates, including former New Mexico State senator Lynda Lovejoy.
Lynda Morgan Lovejoy is an American politician. She is a former Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate.
Jerry ClasChee Begay Sr. was an American World War II veteran and a member of the Navajo Code Talkers.
Willard Varnell Oliver was an American veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a member of the Navajo Code Talkers during World War II. Oliver was part of a unit of Navajos who worked to confuse Japanese forces in the Pacific during World War II through the transmission of messages in the Navajo language. His younger brother, Lloyd Oliver, was also a member of the Navajo Code Talkers. Their parents were Howard and Olive (Lee) Oliver.
Ben Shelly was the 7th president of the Navajo Nation. He was the first president to have been elected both president and vice president of the Navajo Nation, as well as the first New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo presidency.
Frank Chee Willeto was an American politician and Navajo code talker during World War II. Willeto served as the vice president of the Navajo Nation under President Milton Bluehouse, Sr. from his appointment in August 1998 until January 1999, when the Begaye administration took office.
The office of Vice-President of the Navajo Nation was created in 1991 following restructuring of the Navajo Nation government. The president and vice president are elected every four years. The Navajo Nation Vice-President shall serve no more than two terms.
Evelyne E. Bradley was an American Navajo judge. She served as a district judge for the Navajo Nation from 1984 until her retirement in 1995. Bradley was one of the first women to become a judge within the Navajo Nation.
Russell Begaye is a Navajo politician who served as the 8th president of Navajo Nation from May 2015 to January 2019. He was the second New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo Presidency.
The Navajo Nation presidential election of 2018 was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. The candidates for President of the Navajo Nation in the general election were Jonathan Nez and Joe Shirley, Jr. Jonathan Nez and running mate Myron Lizer won the election. Although neither Nez nor Shirley were incumbents, they possessed the high name recognition associated with incumbents.
Jonathan Nez is a Navajo politician who served as the 9th President of the Navajo Nation from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as Vice President and as a Navajo Nation Council delegate.
The 2022 Navajo Nation presidential election took place on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, to elect the president and vice president of the Navajo Nation. The primary election was held on August 2. Incumbent president Jonathan Nez ran for reelection with attorney Chad Abeyta as his running mate. Incumbent Vice President Myron Lizer did not seek re-election, instead running for U.S. House in Arizona. Nez and Abeyta advanced to the general election, as did the challenging ticket of construction manager Buu Nygren and Torreon/Star Lake Chapter President Richelle Montoya. Nygren and Montoya won the general election by a 6-point margin, and Montoya became the Navajo Nation's first female vice president.
The 2015 Navajo Nation Presidential Election was held on April 21, 2015, with the primary on August 26, 2014. Joe Shirley Jr. and Chris Deschene advanced to the general.