Craig launches bid for Minnesota Senate
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) is launching a bid to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in the Senate next year, making her the latest major Democrat to enter the race.
"I'm Angie Craig. I've had to fight my whole life, and damn if we don't have a fight on our hands right now," the Minnesota Democrat says in her campaign launch video released on Tuesday.
"There's chaos and corruption coming out of Washington crashing down on all of us every day; an out-of-control, unelected billionaire trying to take over our government and burn it to the ground; a president trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits for personal gain, and a cowardly Republican Party rolling over and letting it all happen," she continued. "It's time to fight back."
Craig, who's represented Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District since 2019, leaned into her bio in her video, noting she was raised by a single mom in a mobile home and her time working as both a newspaper reporter and working her way up at a manufacturer in Minnesota.
Craig won her House district in 2018, defeating then-incumbent Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.). It was the second time Craig had run against Lewis, who had narrowly defeated her in 2016.
Craig is the latest major Democrat to enter the race to succeed Smith. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former state Sen. Melisa López Franzen are among the top Democrats also vying for the seat.
A handful of Republicans are running for the seat, including former Senate candidates Royce White and Mike Ruoho in addition to retired Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Smith's seat as "lean Democrat."