Angie Craig | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 2nd district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Jason Lewis |
Personal details | |
Born | Angela Dawn Craig February 14, 1972 West Helena, Arkansas, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Cheryl Greene |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Memphis (BA) |
Website | |
Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman serving as the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Craig's district includes most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities and some outlying rural areas.
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 out LGBT member of Congress from Minnesota and the first lesbian mom ever to serve in Congress.[2][3]
Craig was born in West Helena, Arkansas, in 1972.[4][5] She graduated from Nettleton High School in Jonesboro, Arkansas,[6] and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Memphis.[7]
After college, Craig interned at The Commercial Appeal and became a full-time reporter.[8] She lived in London from 2002 through 2005,[5][9] and worked at St. Jude Medical in human resources and communications from 2005 to 2017.[10][11][12]
2016
See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota § District 2 |
In 2016, Craig ran for the United States House of Representatives in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district.[13] She announced her candidacy before Republican incumbent John Kline announced his retirement.[11] She faced no opposition in the Democratic primary. In the general election, she faced former conservative talk show host Jason Lewis.[13] She lost by fewer than 7,000 votes.
2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota § District 2 |
Craig sought a rematch with Lewis in the 2018 elections.[10] As in 2016, she was unopposed in the Democratic primary. She defeated Lewis, becoming 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] Craig received 52.6% of the vote, winning three of the six counties in the district.[16][17]
When she took office in January 2019, she became the first Democrat to represent Minnesota's 2nd district since it assumed its current configuration in 2003.[citation needed]
2020
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Minnesota § District 2 |
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]
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.[26]
During Donald Trump's presidency, Craig voted in line with Trump's stated position 5.5% of the time.[27] As of March 2022, Craig had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[28]
On February 25, 2022, Craig introduced the Affordable Insulin Now Act, a bill intended to cap out-of-pocket insulin prices at no more than $35 per month. The bill has passed the House of Representatives.[29][30]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (DFL) | Angie Craig (incumbent) | 204,031 | 48.18 | |
Republican | Tyler Kistner | 194,466 | 45.92 | |
Legal Marijuana Now | Adam Charles Weeks | 24,693 | 5.83 | |
Write-in | 270 | 0.06 | ||
Total votes | 423,460 | 100.0 | ||
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 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic (DFL) gain from Republican |
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 | 100.0 | ||
Republican hold |
In 2020, Craig moved to Prior Lake, Minnesota after living in Eagan, Minnesota for nearly 10 years.[36] She and her wife, Cheryl Greene, have four children.[37] She is Lutheran.[38]