Meet Angie Craig: Minnesota’s First Out Lesbian Congresswoman Runs for Senate
Craig is running against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in an August primary for the Democratic nomination.
Lesbian U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has represented the Second Congressional District in Minnesota since 2019. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member is now looking to move from the U.S. House of Representatives to the Senate to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith.
As one of the few out women members of Congress and the first lesbian mother member of Congress, Craig has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. However, she faces the state’s lieutenant governor in her primary as well as criticism that she is not progressive enough for Minnesota.
Who Is Angie Craig, Minnesota’s First Openly LGBTQ+ Member of Congress?
Craig was born in Arkansas in 1972.
“Angie grew up in a mobile home park and was raised by a single mom. Working two jobs, Craig helped put herself through state college. Angie started her career as a newspaper reporter and worked her way up over 20 years in business, eventually leading a workforce of 16,000 for a major Minnesota manufacturer,” according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, an organization supporting queer elected officials.
It wasn’t until she was in her 40s that she went into politics. Minnesota’s Second Congressional District is a swing seat covering suburban and rural communities. She ran for Congress against anti-LGBTQ+ Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis in 2016. She lost, but ran against him again in 2018 and won.
In 2024, she won her election again, but this time by double digits after several closer elections.
She’s a member of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), which is the state’s Democratic Party affiliate.
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Her win in 2018 made history. She became the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Congress and became the first lesbian mother congresswoman.
She and her wife, Cheryl, who is a former teacher, have four sons and several grandchildren.
Rep. Craig’s Complicated Record in Congress
Known as a moderate, Craig, who caucuses with Democrats, is a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus with other LGBTQ+ and allied lawmakers. She’s worked on bipartisan initiatives, including the use of social media in trafficking fentanyl.
Craig is also the first out lawmaker to serve as ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.
“She’s taken on Big Pharma, writing legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs. She’s stood up to corporate monopolies that are jacking up costs. She’s worked to expand apprenticeship and job training programs and fought like hell on behalf of family farmers,” the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund said.
The Minnesotan lawmaker has also called out and been critical of anti-trans legislation, including anti-trans sports bills. However, she has not co-sponsored the Trans Bill of Rights, which at least one national LGBTQ+ group has criticized her for.
She voted for Trump’s Laken Riley Act, which now allows the U.S. government to indefinitely detain undocumented people who have been accused but not convicted of non-violent crimes. Craig has condemned ICE operations in Minnesota, ones that saw queer mother Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti shot and killed. She’s also said that she now regrets the vote.
After the ICE surge in Minnesota, Craig introduced articles of impeachment against then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Craig also voted for the GENIUS Act, which some say allowed Trump to make more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency, according to CBS News. The bill set up a “regulatory framework for cryptocurrency stablecoins that are backed by dollar assets,” according to the outlet.
Related: Karen Clark, Longest Serving Lesbian State Lawmaker, Passes Away at 80
Angie Craig’s 2026 Senate Campaign
Craig announced her official bid for the Senate on the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s return to the presidency back in 2025. In a campaign launch video, the Minnesota Congresswoman directly confronted the president, criticizing his administration for “trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits.”
“There’s chaos and corruption coming out of Washington, crashing down on all of us every day,” Craig said in the video. “And damn if we don’t have a fight going on right now.”
Craig is currently in a primary race against fellow DFL member Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan as well as former state Sen. Melisa López Franzen.
No Republican senator has been elected from the state since 2002.
Some pundits have framed the race as a contest against establishment lawmakers and more progressive officials.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and gay former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have endorsed Craig.
Retiring Sen. Tina Smith has endorsed Flanagan, who has criticized Craig’s previous vote for part of Trump’s immigration plan. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association launched a $2 million ad campaign in May attacking Craig for that vote, according to NBC News.
Polls are somewhat split between Craig and Flanagan, but Flanagan is leading in most.
If Craig does win the primary in August and then the general election in November, Craig would join Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin as the only two out lesbians ever elected to the U.S. Senate. The only other lesbian to serve in the upper chamber, Laphonza Butler of California, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 but chose not to run for a full term.
