Angie worked in health care for nearly 20 years. She knows firsthand what’s broken in our health care system. That’s probably why she’s introduced and co-sponsored more than 100 bills dedicated to bringing down the cost of health care in her first term alone.
Angie Craig got to work on this issue in practical, Minnesotan fashion. She campaigned on a promise to sit down with anyone willing to get things done. Angie delivered on this promise by leading the way to create one of the only bipartisan climate change solutions: a carbon fee and dividend program. Her plan would cut emissions by 40% through a carbon tax, the revenue from which would go directly back into the pockets of American families. Angie’s plan would create millions of quality jobs in construction and engineering as we build up green technology in Minnesota and across the country.
Craig, however, said: “I’m not sure why my opponent is fighting so hard not to proceed with an election that is already underway. I believe strongly that the voters of this district have the right to have their votes counted in the November election and to have continuous representation in Congress. It is clearly our view that this state law violates federal law. It is appropriate to ask the court to weigh in and that is what we’ve done. If my opponent had the best interests of Minnesotans in minds, he would join me to ensure that the Second District is never without representation.”
In 2018, Angie Craig was the first openly gay women from Minnesota elected to the U.S. House Of Representatives (Tammy Baldwin was the first ever openly lesbian person in Congress). Craig is a vocal champion of marriage equality in her home state, where she lives with her wife and four sons.
Craig is one of the moderate House Democrats asking their leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to write a new COVID-19 stimulus bill that will meet the Republican Senate and White House “in the middle.” Failing to spend stimulus dollars now could lead to worse debt and deficit problems down the road, said Craig, who supports letting the 2017 Republican tax cuts – which “really truly only benefited the top 5 percent in this country” – expire.
Executive director Sarah Anderson says Minnesota lawmakers like Collin Peterson, Tim Emmer, Angie Craig, Jim Hagedorn and Tina Smith went to bat for turkey farmers at a very stressful time, and MTGA appreciates their work in securing assistance for farm families through advocacy to the USDA.
Over the summer, Sen. Tina Smith connected with Youthprise and got involved. In August, she and Rep. Angie Craig introduced a bill in Congress that would ensure high school students in Minnesota who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for unemployment benefits. It has yet to go anywhere, but it is still in play.
Secretary of State Steve Simon says it’s very likely the court’s decision will come before the November election. “We’re talking close to days than weeks when this would be decided,” Simon says. His office is encouraging voters in the 2nd district to keep an eye on the situation and to cast a vote on the November ballot just in case the law is overruled before the election.
Craig, a first-term Democrat from Eagan, said in a statement that federal law requires the election to proceed as part of the November general election and warned that the district would go without congressional representation for several weeks if the election is delayed.
In a statement Monday, Craig said the 2nd Congressional District voters “deserve to have a voice fighting for them in Washington,” and that the February special election would “deprive Minnesotans of their seat at the table at a time when critical legislation affecting our state will be debated,” she added.