Advance Native Political Leadership Releases Second Round of National Endorsement Slate of Native American Candidates Ahead of 2022 Midterms

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund (Advance) is making history by releasing its second round of endorsements for its national slate of Native American candidates spanning local, state, and federal offices, adding 15 new candidates for a total of 31 endorsed.

More than 142 Native American candidates made the leap to run for office during the 2022 midterm elections, the highest on record. To date, there are less than 200 Native Americans holding elected office in the United States, with more than 17,000 needed to reach representational parity in elected office based on population.

The following candidates were selected for Advance’s inaugural slate:

FEDERAL

• Charles Graham (Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina) - U.S. House of Representatives, North Carolina District 9

• Mary Peltola* (Yup’ik) - U.S. House of Representatives, Alaska At-Large

• Mercedes Krause (Oglala Lakota) - U.S. House of Representatives, Nevada District 2

• Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk) - U.S. House of Representatives, Kansas District 3

• Taysha DeVaughan* (Comanche Nation of Oklahoma) - U.S House of Representatives, Virginia District 9

STATE

• Alan Roy (White Earth Ojibwe) - Minnesota State Senate, District 2

• Alicia Kozlowski (Ojibwe-Mexicana) - Minnesota State House of Representatives, District 8B

• Andi LeBeau* (Northern Arapaho and Cheyenne River Sioux) - Wyoming State House of Representatives, District 33

• Barbara Bessette* (Chippewa-Cree) - Montana State House of Representatives, District 24

• Charlotte Little (San Felipe Pueblo) - New Mexico House of Representatives, District 68

• Chris Stearns (Diné) - Washington State House of Representatives, District 47 - Position 2

• Christina Haswood (Diné) - Kansas State House of Representatives, District 10

• Claudia Kauffman (Nez Perce) - Washington State Senate, District 47

• Davina Smith* (Diné) - Utah State House of Representatives, District 69

• Derrick J. Lente* (Pueblo of Sandia) - New Mexico State House of Representatives, District 65

• Donavon Hawk* (Crow and Crow Creek Sioux) - Montana State House of Representatives, District 76

• Erika Bailey-Johnson* (Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians) - Minnesota State House of Representatives, District 2B

• Heather Keeler (Yankton Sioux and Eastern Shoshone) - Minnesota State House of Representatives, District 4A

• Jamie Becker-Finn* (Leech Lake Ojibwe) - Minnesota State House of Representatives, District 40B

• Lillian Jones* (Arikara and Hidatsa)- North Dakota State House of Representatives, District 41

• Lisa Finley-DeVille* (MNA Nation) - North Dakota State House of Representatives, District 4A

• Mary Kunesh (Standing Rock Sioux) - Minnesota State Senate, District 39

• Maxine Dibert* (Koyukon Athabascan) - Alaska State House of Representatives, District 31

• Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) - Lt. Governor of Minnesota

• Ruth Anna Buffalo (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) - North Dakota State House of Representatives, District 27

• Shane A. Morigeau* (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation) - Montana State Senate, District 48

• Shea Backus (Cherokee) - Nevada State Assembly, District 37

• Tawna Sanchez* (Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, and Carrizo) - Oregon State House of Representatives, District 43

LOCAL

• Ceyshe Napa (Diné) - Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 4

• Songtree Pioche (Taos Pueblo and Oglala Lakota) - New Mexico Magistrate Judge, San Juan Division 1

• Zachariah (Zac) George* (Diné) - San Juan, NM County Commission District 2

*Note: Asterisk denotes new endorsements.

The Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund Inaugural Endorsement Committee is made up of Native leaders who represent the breadth of political power in Indian Country: Chaired by Advance Co-Founders Anathea Chino (Acoma Pueblo) and Chrissie Castro (Diné and Chicana) and members Holly Cook Macarro (Red Lake Band of Ojibwe), and Laurie Weahkee (Diné, Cochiti and Zuni Pueblo).

To read more about our full endorsement slate and Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund more broadly, visit advancenativepl.org.

About Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund

Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund (Advance) is the first and only national Native-led organization working to build a complete ecosystem approach to power building in Native communities – leadership recruitment and support, civic engagement, data and research, and national coordination. Advance Native Political Leadership Action Fund is our 501(c)(4) project, and is fiscally sponsored by Tides Advocacy.