Wife of state senator to run for husband's seat

• Candace Begody-Begay is active in the Navajo Nation community and is editor of the Navajo Times
• She grew up a Democrat, but switched her party registration in March

The wife of Arizona Sen. Carlyle Begay, who is running for Congress, will seek to hold onto the family's political influence at the state Capitol.

Candace Begody-Begay, who is active in the Navajo Nation community, and has worked closely with her husband during his tenure at the statehouse, will run for state Senate as a Republican. Her position as editor of the Navajo Times, coupled with her name recognition in a district that covers most of the Navajo and Hopi reservations, could give her an advantage in the race, where the districts leans Democratic.

Though her husband won the seat as a Democrat, she said her path to victory will be to convince voters the Republican Party is more aligned with their values than the Democratic Party. She pulled paperwork to run last week.

Like her husband, Begody-Begay grew up a Democrat, but joined the Grand Old Party in March. With her husband's departure from the Democratic Party a few months before, she said she began to re-evaluate where she stood on key issues affecting tribal communities, and discovered the Republican Party was more in line with her upbringing and the teachings of her elders.

If elected, she said she hopes to lead with the values instilled in her by her family: self-determination and self-reliance. She said she would tackle issues ranging from infrastructure to education, jobs and substance abuse.

She said the next senator from the district should capitalize on relationships her husband has forged with the Governor's Office and non-Native state leaders.

"When I looked at the candidates running for such an important role ... I felt like there were no candidates that truly represented me — that truly represented the issues that I believe are important," said Begody-Begay, 28. "I'm a mother, I'm a Navajo woman. I grew up with the teaching and upbringing that our elders and our ancestors have taught ... which is you yourself have to make decisions. You yourself have to want to make a difference, you yourself have to make the change that you want to see."

Begody-Begay, of Ganado, likely will not face a primary opponent, although one Republican, Anthony Peterman, has also filed paperwork to run for the seat. Peterman said Friday he would not seek the position if a "good" GOP candidate was running. Democrats Steven Begay and Jamecita Mae Peshiakai are also vying for the seat.

Begody-Begay will have the full backing of the state GOP, whose chairman, Robert Graham, has made several trips to meet with the Begay family and community leaders in the lead-up to Carlyle's party-registration switch. The district includes seven counties and eight tribal nations. Graham said Friday that Begody-Begay is a "dynamic, confident person" who has a "great servant heart."

Begody-Begay, who plans to turn in her paperwork Tuesday to the Arizona Secretary of State' Office, said Democratic officials from the district haven't delivered on promises of making lives better for residents.

"I've had enough of mediocre leadership," she said. "It's not the way of living for us Native people. We truly have to change the mentality of the way we look at ourselves. If we're really going to talk about sovereignty or the pride of our people, we have to make these changes."

She expects criticism from some who will question why she would seek office as her husband runs for Congress.

"One of our teachings as a woman is that you stand behind your husband," she said. "But we want to do this fight together. I believe that both of us were already on this path of public service, from the day we were born."

Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett and follow her on Facebook.