# Angie Craig *American politician; U.S. representative for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district (2019– ) and 2026 candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Minnesota* Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is a politician of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). She has held the seat for [[Minnesota]]'s 2nd congressional district in the [[United States House of Representatives]] since 2019.[^1][^2] The district covers most of the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities and the rural territory to their southwest.[^2] Craig is an Arkansas native who worked in journalism and corporate communications. She came to Minnesota in 2005 to take a position at St. Jude Medical.[^2] Craig lost her first House race, in 2016, to Jason Lewis and beat him in a 2018 rematch.[^2] She is the first openly LGBT+ member of Congress from Minnesota.[^2] On April 29, 2025, she entered the 2026 race for the [[United States Senate]] seat held by [[Tina Smith]]. On August 11, 2026, she lost the primary of the [[Democratic Party (United States)]] to Lieutenant Governor [[Peggy Flanagan]] by about 20 points.[^2] ## Early life and career Craig was born in 1972 in West Helena, Arkansas. She finished high school at Nettleton High School in Jonesboro and took a B.A. in journalism at the University of Memphis.[^3] After an internship at *The Commercial Appeal*, she went on to work as a reporter full-time.[^3] From 2002 to 2005 she was based in London. From 2005 to 2017 she held human resources and communications roles at St. Jude Medical.[^3] ## U.S. House of Representatives ### 2016 and 2018 elections Craig declared for the 2nd district seat in 2016, before the Republican incumbent, John Kline, said he would retire.[^4] She had no Democratic primary opponent. In the general election she faced Jason Lewis, a former conservative talk show host, and lost by under 7,000 votes.[^4] Craig and Lewis met again in 2018, and again no Democrat challenged her in the primary.[^4] This time she won with 52.6 percent of the vote, carrying three of the district's six counties.[^4] When she was sworn in on January 3, 2019, she became the first DFL member to hold the seat since the district was redrawn as a south suburban district in 2003.[^4] ### 2020 election In 2020, Adam Weeks, the Legal Marijuana Now Party nominee in the district, said that Republican operatives had offered him $15,000 to enter the race and "pull votes away" from Craig.[^5] The source reports this as Weeks's statement; the pack does not establish whether the offer was made or by whom. Leaders of Minnesotans for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, Sensible Change Minnesota, and Minnesota NORML called the strategy "unconscionable".[^5] Weeks died of a drug overdose in late September 2020.[^5] ## Political positions Craig describes herself as a centrist moderate Democrat, and others have described her the same way. She has served as a co-chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition.[^6] During Donald Trump's first presidency, her votes matched Trump's stated position 5.5 percent of the time.[^6] In the 117th Congress, her votes matched Joe Biden's stated position 100 percent of the time. In 2023 that rate fell to 70.6 percent, the fourth-lowest among House members in the Democratic caucus.[^6] On July 6, 2024, she urged Biden not to seek reelection, the first member from a battleground district to do so.[^6] In December 2024 she became ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, the first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold that post.[^6] ### COVID-19 pandemic On February 1, 2023, Craig was among the 12 Democrats who voted for a resolution ending the national emergency declared for the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^6] ### Cryptocurrency Fairshake, a super PAC that promotes cryptocurrency, spent over $1.1 million in support of Craig's 2024 reelection. That made it the second-largest spender in her district.[^6] Craig serves on the Agriculture Committee panel with jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has a role in regulating cryptocurrency.[^6] The advocacy group Stand With Crypto rated her "strongly supports crypto". Craig has said that digital assets will have "a major role in the next wave of technological innovation globally".[^6] ### Israel Since 2018, Craig's campaign has taken in more than $800,000 in money linked to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby group.[^6] After the October 7, 2023 attacks, she voted to provide support to Israel.[^6] ## 2026 U.S. Senate campaign Craig entered the race for Smith's seat on April 29, 2025.[^7] Craig ran as a moderate and Flanagan as a progressive. Their primary was read as part of the national struggle between the Democratic Party's moderate and progressive factions that followed the 2024 elections, and endorsements divided along ideological lines.[^7] KARE 11 reported that the primary was heating up.[^8] CBS Minnesota reported that immigration was shaping both the Craig and Flanagan campaigns.[^9] Craig reportedly had private backing from the Democratic Senate leadership, including Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). None of them endorsed her.[^7] Flanagan won the August 2026 primary by twenty points.[^7] ## Personal life In 1997, Craig fought for custody of her adopted son in Tennessee.[^10] She and Cheryl Greene married in 2008. They have four sons, who were teenagers when Craig first ran for Congress in 2016.[^10] After close to ten years in [[Eagan]], she moved to [[Prior Lake]] in 2020.[^10] Craig is a Lutheran.[^10] On February 9, 2023, a man attacked Craig in the elevator of her Washington, D.C. apartment building. She got away after throwing hot coffee in his face. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.[^10] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Angela Dawn Craig, born February 14, 1972; DFL member; first openly LGBT+ member of Congress from Minnesota.[^2] ### What - U.S. representative, Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, since January 3, 2019.[^1][^4] - Candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2026; lost the primary to Peggy Flanagan.[^2][^7] ### When - Announced Senate candidacy April 29, 2025.[^7] - Lost the Democratic Senate primary August 11, 2026.[^2] ### Where - The 2nd district covers most of the southern Twin Cities suburbs and outlying rural areas to the southwest.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Office of Rep. Angie Craig, U.S. House of Representatives, *Angie Craig House Biography* (undated in pack) — the member's official House biography page, establishing her service as a U.S. representative. https://craig.house.gov/about [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), lead section — birth date, party, district and its extent, move to Minnesota, 2016/2018 races, Senate announcement and August 11, 2026 primary result. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Early life and career" — birthplace, schooling, journalism work, London years, St. Jude Medical employment 2005–2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), "U.S. House of Representatives: Elections" — 2016 and 2018 races, 52.6 percent result, January 3, 2019 swearing-in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Elections: 2020" — Adam Weeks's statement, advocacy groups' response, Weeks's death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), "Political positions" — voting-alignment figures, July 6, 2024 statement, ranking-member post, COVID-19 vote, Fairshake spending, AIPAC-linked receipts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Angie Craig* (revision 1376418842, retrieved 2026-10-26), "2026 U.S. Senate campaign" — announcement date, factional framing, reported private leadership backing, primary margin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Craig [^8]: KARE 11, *MN DFL primary for Senate heats up between Flanagan and Craig* (undated in pack) — news coverage of the Flanagan–Craig primary contest. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/minnesota-dfl-primary-for-us-senate-heats-up-between-lt-gov-peggy-flanagan-and-rep-angie-craig/89-5fde0e39-7ce5-42d0-b665-ff1e08f37cbf [^9]: CBS Minnesota, *Immigration shaping Craig and Flanagan campaigns* (undated in pack) — news coverage of immigration as an issue in both Senate campaigns. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/immigration-angie-craig-peggy-flanagan-senate-race/