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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 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, narrowly losing to Jason Lewis, whom she defeated in their 2018 rematch.
Craig is the first openly LGBT member of Congress from Minnesota, and the first lesbian mother to serve in Congress. On April 29, 2025, she announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2026 election to succeed Tina Smith.
After college, Craig interned at The Commercial Appeal, and became a full-time reporter. She lived in London from 2002 through 2005, and worked at St. Jude Medical in human resources and communications from 2005 to 2017.
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. She received 52.6% of the vote, winning three of the six counties in the district. 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.
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 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 (because its 2018 candidate for state auditor won five percent of the vote), the 2nd District race was set to be postponed to February 9, 2021. 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. 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 bars 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. Craig won by a narrow margin.
During Donald Trump's presidency, Craig voted in line with Trump's stated position 5.5% of the time. In the 117th Congress, she voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time. 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.
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.
On April 27, 2023, Craig's congressional office announced that its staff would no longer be required to have bachelor's degrees.
Craig 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.
In 2025, Craig was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.
Craig's position on police reform has shifted dramatically since she took office. In March, she voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. In 2024, she brought the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association's (MPPOA) executive director as her guest to the State of the Union address. The MPPOA funded Derek Chauvin legal fees during his prosecution for the murder of George Floyd.
On February 1, 2023, Craig was one of 12 Democrats to vote for a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.
Craig voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
On July 6, 2024, Craig called for Biden not to run for reelection. She was the first battleground district member to do so.
Craig initially supported a 2024 bill that would have allowed the U.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.
Craig has publicly criticized Elon Musk. After receiving $10,000 in contributions from SpaceX's PAC in 2024, she donated the contributions to Every Third Saturday, a veterans' organization.
Craig is a Lutheran.
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. Rep. Angie Craig assaulted in apartment building elevator, her office says, CNBC, Kevin Breuninger, February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023. The man who assaulted her was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
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2022
In the 2022 election, Craig defeated Republican nominee Tyler Kistner in a rematch of the 2020 election with 51% of the vote to Kistner's 46%.
2024
In the 2024 election, Craig defeated Republican nominee Joe Teirab with 55.5% of the vote to Teirab's 42.1%. Her performance in the district was the best showing for a DFLer since David Minge's election to his final term in 1998.
2026
On April 29, 2025, Craig announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tina Smith. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is also running for the Democratic nomination. Craig had been considered a serious contender in the race for months before announcing her candidacy.
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.
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:
Caucus memberships
Political positions
Craig has been described as and self-identified as a Centrism moderate Democrat.
Electoral history
Personal life
In 2020, Craig moved to Prior Lake, Minnesota, after living in Eagan, Minnesota, for nearly 10 years. 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. The Terrible Mini-Trump of Minnesota — and the Progressive Who's Running Against Him, The Nation, Jon Weiner, September 2, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
See also
External links
Categories: 1972 Births, 21st-century American Lgbtq People, 21st-century American Women Politicians, American Lesbian Politicians, American Lutherans, Female Members Of The United States House Of Representatives, Lesbian Christians, Lgbtq Lutherans, Lgbtq Members Of The United States Congress, Lgbtq People From Arkansas, Lgbtq People From Minnesota, Lutherans From Minnesota, Living People, People From Eagan, Minnesota, People From West Helena, Arkansas, University Of Memphis Alumni
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