Navajo Times
Sunday, July 12, 2026

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Diné seeks Republican nomination for Kirkpatrick’s seat

Diné seeks Republican nomination for Kirkpatrick’s seat
Shawn Redd campaign photo.

Shawn Redd campaign photo.

SHIPROCK

The man who seeks to be the first Diné in Congress says he’s the perfect choice to take over Ann Kirkpatrick’s Arizona Dist. 1 seat.

Born into a prominent Navajo clan on one side and a long line of Mormon pioneer traders on the other, Shawn Redd says he’ll bridge the sprawling district’s racial divide and be a champion for the economic development sorely needed in rural Arizona and across the U.S.

One more thing: He’s running as a Republican.

Since Navajos overwhelmingly vote Democratic, “People have told me, ‘You should run as a Democrat,’” Redd said. “But that’s not who I am. I’m a Navajo Republican.”

And Redd says that if Republicans are smart, they’ll vote for him over his four white competitors in the primary: Gary Kiehne, Ken Bennett, Paul Babeu and David Gowan.

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About The Author

Cindy Yurth

Cindy Yurth was the Tséyi' Bureau reporter, covering the Central Agency of the Navajo Nation, until her retirement on May 31, 2021. Her other beats included agriculture and Arizona state politics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in technical journalism from Colorado State University with a cognate in geology. She has been in the news business since 1980 and with the Navajo Times since 2005, and is the author of “Exploring the Navajo Nation Chapter by Chapter.”

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