Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she has served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities and outlying rural areas to the southwest.

Born and raised in Arkansas, Craig worked in journalism and corporate communications. She moved to Minnesota in 2005 for a job at St. Jude Medical. Craig first ran for Congress in 2016, losing to Jason Lewis, whom she defeated in their 2018 rematch.^[1]

Craig is the first openly LGBT+ member of Congress from Minnesota and the first lesbian mother to serve in Congress.^[2]

Early life and career

Craig was born in West Helena, Arkansas, in 1972.^[3][4] She graduated from Nettleton High School in Jonesboro^[5] and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Memphis.^[6]

After college, Craig interned at The Commercial Appeal and became a full-time reporter.^[7] She lived in London from 2002 through 2005,^[4][8] and worked at St. Jude Medical in human resources and communications from 2005 to 2017.^[9][10][11]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2016

In 2016, Craig ran for the United States House of Representatives in Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district.^[12] She announced her candidacy before Republican incumbent John Kline announced his retirement.^[10] She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she faced former conservative talk show host Jason Lewis.^[12] She lost by fewer than 7,000 votes.

2018

Craig sought a rematch with Lewis in 2018.^[9] 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.”^[13]

Craig is the first openly lesbian 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.^[14][15] She received 52.6% of the vote, winning three of the six counties in the district.^[16][17] 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.

2020

In a verified recording, 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. Weeks said, “They want me to run as a third-party, liberal candidate, which I’m down. I can play the liberal, you know that.”^[18][19] Leaders of prominent pro-marijuana legalization groups Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, Sensible Change Minnesota, and Minnesota NORML condemned the GOP strategy as “unconscionable”.^[18]

In late September, Weeks died of a drug overdose, throwing the election into chaos. 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 the 2002 U. S. Senate election, in which incumbent Paul Wellstone died 11 days before the general election. Since the Legal Marijuana Now Party was a major party in Minnesota (by virtue of its 2018 candidate for state auditor winning five percent of the vote), the 2nd District race was set to be postponed to February 9, 2021.^[20] 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.^[21] Republican nominee Tyler Kistner joined the Minnesota Secretary of State as a defendant. The federal judge hearing the case ruled for Craig, noting that federal election law barred moving the date of House elections in all but a few circumstances. Kistner appealed to the Eighth 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 the Supreme Court was rejected, the election was cleared to continue as scheduled on November 3.^{[19][22][23][24][25]}

2022

In the 2022 election, Craig defeated Republican nominee Tyler Kistner in a rematch of the 2020 election^[26] with 51% of the vote.^[27]

Tenure

According to the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Craig held a Bipartisan Index Score of 0.3 in the 116th United States Congress for 2019, placing her 114th out of 435 members.^[28]

During Donald Trump‘s presidency, Craig voted in line with Trump’s stated position 5.5% of the time.^[29] As of June 2022, Craig had voted in line with Joe Biden‘s stated position 100% of the time.^[30]

On February 25, 2022, Craig introduced the Affordable Insulin Now Act, a bill intended to cap out-of-pocket insulin prices at $35 per month. The bill passed the House.^[31][32]

On April 27, 2023, Craig’s congressional office announced that its staff would no longer be required to have bachelor’s degrees.^[33]

Craig has played a role in negotiations for the 2024 United States federal budget, in which the far-right Freedom Caucus has demanded deep spending cuts and refused to work with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In response to the intraparty dispute, on September 20, 2023, Craig introduced the MCCARTHY (My Constituents Cannot Afford Rebellious Tantrums, Handle Your) Shutdown Act, which proposes that members’ pay be withheld for each day that a federal government shutdown lasts.^[34]

Craig voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100 percent of the time in the 117th Congress, according to FiveThirtyEight.^[35]

COVID-19 policy

On February 1, 2023, Craig was one of 12 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.^[36][37]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[38]

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit
• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

• Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus (Co-chair)^[39]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus (2019–2021)^{[citation needed]}
• New Democrat Coalition^[40]
• House Pro-Choice Caucus^[41]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[42]

Political positions

Craig voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[43][44]

Electoral history

Personal life

In 2020, Craig moved to Prior Lake, Minnesota, after living in Eagan, Minnesota, for nearly 10 years.^[49] 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.^[50][51]

Craig is a Lutheran.^[52]

Physical assault

Craig was physically held hostage and assaulted in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building on February 9, 2023.^[53] She said of this:

I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning… And so I think we have to think about how in the world can we make sure that we’re not just letting criminals out… I mean, it wasn’t even in every instance that he got 10 days or 30 days. Many times, the charges were completely dropped before any justice was achieved at all… I was assault number 13 on his record… And I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure there’s not a 14, a 15, a 20… If you throw somebody in jail for 10 days and think, “There’s your punishment, and we’re gonna let you right back on the street,” what the hell do you think’s gonna happen?^[54]

See also

• List of LGBT members of the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

• Congresswoman Angie Craig official U.S. House website
• Campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN