Challenger Eli Crane unseats 3-term Rep. Tom O’Halleran in U.S. House

Updated at 5:25 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2022.

Political neophyte Eli Crane, a former Navy SEAL, was on the verge on unseating three-term incumbent Tom O’Halleran in U.S. House of Representatives District 2, which represents Maricopa, in election returns released Wednesday morning.

After O’Halleran held a tight edge in initial results released from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office Tuesday night, Crane flip-flopped the race and took a narrow lead, which grew slightly overnight with nearly 119,000 votes counted.

Crane is a combat veteran of 13 years who had five wartime deployments, three in the Middle East. He and his wife Jen live in the Tucson area and created a bottle-opener company that was featured on the television show, Shark Tank, which supports and employs veterans nationwide.

O’Halleran, who is seeking a fourth term in the House, represented District 1 for three terms. Redistricting saw him move to District 2 for this election cycle.

O’Halleran, a resident of unincorporated Yavapai county, served in the Arizona House of Representatives 2001-06 and the state Senate 2007-09 as a Republican. He changed parties in 2014.

He joined the Chicago Police Department at age 20, and became a sergeant in a Special Operations Unit and later was among the youngest in Chicago history to be commissioned a homicide investigator. Following his police career, O’Halleran became a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and served two terms on the Exchange’s Board of Directors.

Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District is the state’s largest in area and includes all or part of 11 of the state’s 15 counties. It includes all of Apache, Coconino, Graham, Greenlee, and Navajo counties and parts of Gila, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai.

Please check back. This story will be updated as the latest returns are released.