Lesbian Lawmaker Angie Craig Kicks Off Groundbreaking Senate Campaign
If elected, Craig would become only the second out lesbian ever voted into the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat and the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Minnesota, officially announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The move sets up a competitive Democratic primary and puts Craig on track to potentially become just the second out lesbian ever elected to the upper chamber of Congress.
Craig’s announcement came on a symbolic date: the 100th day of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. In a campaign launch video, the Minnesota Congresswoman directly confronted the president, criticizing his administration for “trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits.” She also called out tech billionaire Elon Musk as “an out-of-control, unelected billionaire trying to take control of our government and burn it to the ground,” and labeled congressional Republicans as “cowardly.”
“There’s chaos and corruption coming out of Washington, crashing down on all of us every day,” Craig declared. “And damn if we don’t have a fight going on right now.”
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Craig’s entry into the Senate race comes as current U.S. Senator Tina Smith prepares to retire at the end of her term, opening a rare Senate seat in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican senator since 2002—but where recent races have been fiercely competitive.
Craig, 53, represents Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, a swing seat covering suburban and rural communities that she flipped in 2018 and has held through several nail-biter reelections—until she scored a decisive double-digit victory in 2024. Her Senate run will leave the House seat open during a critical election year when Democrats are fighting to reclaim a majority in Congress.
Despite her reputation in the House as a pragmatic legislator willing to work across the aisle, Craig’s Senate launch marked a clear shift in tone that reflects the high stakes of the current political moment. In her video, she invoked her working-class roots and the personal battles she’s fought as a lesbian mother.
Craig recalls in her video how she grew up in a mobile home park, worked her way through college, and rose to become the head of a Minnesota manufacturing company. She and her wife, Cheryl Greene, “fought like hell to be the parents of our four wonderful boys” when they lived in Tennessee. “Well, they keep underestimating us—and we keep winning,” she said.
Her campaign received an early boost from Equality PAC, a leading national group dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ candidates to Congress. “Equality PAC is proud to endorse Congresswoman Angie Craig for U.S. Senate because Minnesotans deserve a tireless, effective leader who puts people first—and that’s exactly who Angie is,” said co-chairs Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) in a joint statement.
If successful, 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, Laphonza Butler of California, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 but chose not to run for a full term.
With a record of perseverance, a deep connection to Minnesota’s diverse communities, and a progressive vision sharpened by personal experience, Angie Craig enters the race as a formidable candidate.
“We’re proud Minnesotans — a state of fierce independence, freedom and community. People willing to take on the powerful and fight for what’s right,” Craig says. “It’s why I’m running for U.S. Senate: to listen, to fight for all of Minnesota and to win.”
