Sharon Clahchischilliage

Sharon E. Clahchischilliage (born 1947/1948) is an American politician and a former Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, representing District 4 from 2013–2018. She was elected to the New Mexico Public Education Commission from District 5 in 2022. A citizen of the Navajo Nation, she ran unsuccessfully for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 congressional election against incumbent Teresa Leger Fernández.

Early life and education Clahchischilliage was born into a Navajo family, the daughter of Eleanor and Herb Clah in Farmington, New Mexico, and is a member of the Navajo Nation. Clahchischilliage attended the University of New Mexico, earned her BS in education from Eastern New Mexico University, and earned her MA in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012, she was nominated unopposed as the Republican candidate for the fourth district of the New Mexico House of Representatives, against incumbent Democratic state representative Ray Begaye; she was victorious in the November general election, securing 61.4% of the vote. She successfully held this seat in the 2014 and 2016 elections, with decreasing margins of victory; she was defeated in her third bid for re-election by Democrat Anthony Allison in 2018.

In 2019, she ran in the election for the Central Consolidated Schools school board, in Shiprock, New Mexico; coming third out of five candidates, winning a majority of votes in one of six precincts. In 2022, she was elected unopposed as the District 5 representative to the New Mexico Public Education Commission. In 2024, she was unopposed in the Republican primary for New Mexico's 3rd congressional seat, but lost the general election by 56.3%–43.7% against incumbent Democratic representative Teresa Leger Fernández in the November general election.