U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Minnesota, officially launched her campaign Tuesday for U.S. Senate—setting the stage for a closely watched Democratic primary in a political climate increasingly hostile to queer Americans.
In a campaign video released on President Donald Trump’s 100th day back in office, Craig, a Democrat representing Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, slammed the Republican for “trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits,” accused billionaire Elon Musk of trying to “burn [the government] to the ground,” and called out a “cowardly Republican Party” enabling it all.
“There’s chaos and corruption coming out of Washington, crashing down on all of us every day,” Craig said. “And damn if we don’t have a fight going on right now.”
Her candidacy quickly received a significant boost: Equality PAC, the national group dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ people to Congress, endorsed her Senate bid Wednesday.
“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 Equality PAC co-chairs Rep. Mark Takano of California and New York Rep. Ritchie Torres. “Angie Craig is a proven fighter, and we are confident she will bring that same grit and commitment to the U.S. Senate on behalf of all Minnesotans.”
Craig, 53, flipped her suburban and rural swing district in 2018 and has since defended it in some of the nation’s most competitive House races. With her Senate run, she leaves that seat open in a critical election year. She told the Star Tribune she would not endorse a successor but believed Democrats could keep the district.
Craig joins a Democratic field that includes Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who would be the first Native American woman in the Senate, and former state Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen. While Flanagan has already picked up high-profile endorsements, Craig enters with strong name recognition and over $1.2 million in campaign cash, MinnPost reports.
The outlet noted Craig’s messaging signals a more progressive tone than her House record, where she’s known as a centrist. While she has voted for bipartisan measures—including the controversial GOP-backed Laken Riley Act—Craig has remained a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
In her video, Craig recalls growing up in a mobile home park, working her way through college, starting out as a newspaper reporter, and eventually leading a major Minnesota manufacturing company. “No one gave me much of a chance to win a Republican congressional seat either,” she says. “Well, they keep underestimating us—and we keep winning.”
In an interview with The Advocate in 2024, Craig spoke about using her personal story—raising four sons and two grandsons with her wife, Cheryl Greene—to humanize LGBTQ+ families in a divided Congress. “We’re no different from anyone else,” she said. “I keep trying by example.”
She has criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson as “the most anti-LGBTQ House speaker in American history” and denounced efforts to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth. “This is not a conversation that a politician should be anywhere near,” Craig told The Advocate. “There’s no reason to fear, to hate.”
At the start of the current Congress, Craig became the first LGBTQ+ woman elected by House Democrats to serve as the ranking member of the powerful Agriculture Committee.
If elected, she would become only the second out lesbian ever to serve in the U.S. Senate, joining Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
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