Angie Craig | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Agriculture Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | David Scott |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Jason Lewis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Angela Dawn Craig (1972-02-14)February 14, 1972 (age 53) West Helena, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (DFL) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Memphis (BA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman. A member of theDemocratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she has served as theU.S. representative fromMinnesota's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of theTwin Cities and outlying rural areas to the southwest.
Born and raised inArkansas, Craig worked in journalism and corporate communications. She moved toMinnesota in 2005 for a job atSt. Jude Medical. Craig first ran for Congress in2016, narrowly losing toJason Lewis, whom she defeated in their2018 rematch.[1]
Craig is the first openlyLGBT+ member of Congress from Minnesota, and the firstlesbian mother to serve in Congress. On April 29, 2025, she announced her candidacy for theUnited States Senate in the2026 election to succeedTina Smith.[2][3]
Craig was born inWest Helena, Arkansas, in 1972.[4][5] She graduated fromNettleton High School inJonesboro,[6] and earned aBachelor of Arts in journalism from theUniversity of Memphis.[7]
After college, Craig interned atThe Commercial Appeal, and became a full-time reporter.[8] She lived inLondon from 2002 through 2005,[5][9] and worked atSt. Jude Medical inhuman resources and communications from 2005 to 2017.[10][11][12]
In 2016, Craig ran for theUnited States House of Representatives inMinnesota's 2nd congressional district.[13] She announced her candidacy before Republican incumbentJohn Kline announced his retirement.[11] She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she faced former conservative talk show hostJason Lewis.[13] She lost by fewer than 7,000 votes.
Craig sought a rematch with Lewis in 2018.[10] As in 2016, she was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she defeated Lewis, whose candor was felt to be his eventual undoing. Regarding slavery, for instance, he said in 2016, "If you don't want to own a slave, don't, but don't tell other people they can't."[14]
Craig is the first openlylesbian mother to be elected to Congress, the first woman to be elected in Minnesota's 2nd district, and the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota.[15][16] She received 52.6% of the vote, winning three of the six counties in the district.[17][18] When she took office on January 3, 2019, she became the first DFLer to represent this district since it was reconfigured as a south suburban district in 2003.
Legal Marijuana Now Party nominee Adam Weeks said that Republican operatives offered him $15,000 to run for Congress in the 2nd district in order to "pull votes away" from Craig. He said: "They want me to run as a third-party, liberal candidate, which I'm down. I can play the liberal, you know that."[19][20] Leaders of prominent pro-marijuana legalization groups Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, Sensible Change Minnesota, and MinnesotaNORML called the strategy "unconscionable".[19]
In late September, Weeks died of a drug overdose. Minnesota law requires a special election if a major-party nominee dies within 79 days of Election Day. The law was enacted to prevent a repeat of the circumstances of the2002 U. S. Senate election, in which incumbentPaul Wellstone died 11 days before the general election. Since the Legal Marijuana Now Party was a major party in Minnesota (because its 2018 candidate forstate auditor won five percent of the vote), the 2nd District race was set to be postponed to February 9, 2021.[21] Craig sued to keep the election on November 3, arguing that the requirement for a special election could leave the 2nd district without representation for almost a month, and also violated federal election law.[22]Republican nominee Tyler Kistner joined theMinnesota Secretary of State as a defendant. The federal judge hearing the case ruled for Craig, noting that federal election law bars moving the date of House elections in all but a few circumstances. Kistner appealed to theEighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which also sided with Craig. The appeals court held that the death of a candidate from a party with "modest electoral strength" could not justify postponing the election. After Kistner's appeal to theSupreme Court was rejected, the election was cleared to continue as scheduled on November 3.[20][23][24][25][26] Craig won by a narrow margin.
In the 2022 election, Craig defeated Republican nominee Tyler Kistner in a rematch of the 2020 election[27] with 51% of the vote to Kistner's 46%.[28]
In the 2024 election, Craig defeated Republican nominee Joe Teirab with 55.5% of the vote to Teirab's 42.1%.[29] Her performance in the district was the best showing for a DFLer sinceDavid Minge's election to his final term in1998.
On April 29, 2025, Craig announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated byTina Smith. Lieutenant GovernorPeggy Flanagan is also running for the Democratic nomination. Craig had been considered a serious contender in the race for months before announcing her candidacy.[30][31]
According to theMcCourt School of Public Policy atGeorgetown University, Craig held a Bipartisan Index Score of 0.3 in the116th United States Congress for 2019, placing her 114th out of 435 members.[32]
DuringDonald Trump's presidency, Craig voted in line with Trump's stated position 5.5% of the time.[33] In the117th Congress, she voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[34] Craig broke more frequently with the Biden administration in 2023, voting in line with the president's positions 70.6% of the time, the fourth-lowest rate of any House member in the Democratic caucus.[35]
On February 25, 2022, Craig introduced theAffordable Insulin Now Act, a bill intended to capout-of-pocketinsulin prices at $35 per month. The bill passed the House.[36][37]
On April 27, 2023, Craig's congressional office announced that its staff would no longer be required to have bachelor's degrees.[38]
Craig played a role in negotiations for the2024 United States federal budget, in which the far-rightFreedom Caucus has demanded deep spending cuts and refused to work withHouse SpeakerKevin McCarthy. In response to the intraparty dispute, on September 20, 2023, Craig introduced theMCCARTHY (My Constituents Cannot Afford Rebellious Tantrums, Handle Your Shutdown Act), which proposes that members' pay be withheld for each day that afederal government shutdown lasts.[39]
For the118th Congress:[40]
Craig has self-identified and been described as acentristmoderate Democrat.[48][49][50] She co-chaired the centristNew Democrat Coalition.[51]
In March, Craig voted for theGeorge Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.[52] In 2024, she brought the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association's (MPPOA) executive director as her guest to theState of the Union address.[53] The MPPOA fundedDerek Chauvin's legal fees during his prosecution for themurder of George Floyd, but Craig said her decision was because of the2024 Burnsville shooting.[54][55]
On February 1, 2023, Craig was one of 12 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end theCOVID-19 national emergency.[56][57]
Craig voted to provide Israel with support following the2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[58][59] In September 2024, the pro-Israel lobbying groupAIPACbundled more than $200,000 to her 2024 campaign and praised her "solid commitment" to the U.S.-Israel relationship.[60]
The pro-crypto Super PACFairshake spent more than $1.1 million to boost Craig's 2024 reelection campaign. It was the second-biggest spender in her district.[61] Craig sits on the Agriculture Committee panel with jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which plays a role in regulating cryptocurrency. She earned the rating "strongly supports crypto" from the cryptocurrency advocacy group Stand With Crypto. Craig has said digital assets will have "a major role in the next wave of technological innovation globally".[62]
On July 6, 2024, Craig called for Biden not to run for reelection. She was the first battleground district member to do so.[63]
Craig initially supported a 2024 bill that would have allowed theU.S. treasury secretary to revoke the nonprofit, tax-exempt status of groups suspected of providing "material support or resources" to terrorist organizations due to provisions granting tax leeway to Americans held hostage overseas, but she later voted against the bill due to concern about potential abuse by the incoming Trump administration.[64]
Craig has publicly criticizedElon Musk. After receiving $10,000 in contributions fromSpaceX's PAC in 2024, she donated the contributions to Every Third Saturday, a veterans' organization.[65]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig (incumbent) | 231,751 | 55.53% | |
| Republican | Joe Teirab | 175,621 | 42.08% | |
| Constitutional conservative | Tom Bowman(withdrawn) | 9,492 | 2.27% | |
| Write-in | 455 | 0.11% | ||
| Total votes | 417,319 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig (incumbent) | 165,581 | 50.87% | |
| Republican | Tyler Kistner | 148,578 | 45.65% | |
| Legal Marijuana Now | Paula Overby | 10,730 | 3.30% | |
| Write-in | 585 | 0.18% | ||
| Total votes | 325,474 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig (incumbent) | 204,031 | 48.18% | |
| Republican | Tyler Kistner | 194,466 | 45.92% | |
| Legal Marijuana Now | Adam Weeks | 24,693 | 5.83% | |
| Write-in | 270 | 0.06% | ||
| Total votes | 423,460 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL)hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig | 177,958 | 52.66% | |
| Republican | Jason Lewis (incumbent) | 159,344 | 47.15% | |
| Write-in | 666 | 0.20% | ||
| Total votes | 337,968 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic (DFL)gain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason Lewis | 173,970 | 46.95% | |
| Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig | 167,315 | 45.16% | |
| Independence | Paula Overby | 28,869 | 7.79% | |
| Write-in | 360 | 0.10% | ||
| Total votes | 370,514 | 100.00% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
In 2020, Craig moved toPrior Lake, Minnesota, after living inEagan, Minnesota, for nearly 10 years.[71] She and her wife, Cheryl Greene, were married in 2008, and have four sons, who were teenagers during her first run for Congress in 2016.[72][73]
On February 9, 2023, Craig was physically assaulted in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building. She escaped after throwing hot coffee in the assailant's face.[75] The man who assaulted her was sentenced to 27 months in prison.[76]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 2nd congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Agriculture Committee 2025–present | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 196th | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
