Congresswoman Angie Craig is running for U.S. Senate. Announcing her candidacy on Tuesday, the Democrat’s decision likely means a brutal primary to decide who will be the DFL nominee in the upcoming race for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.
Earlier this year, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith announced she would not seek another term as Minnesota’s junior U.S. senator. Since then, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former state Senate minority leader Melisa López Franzen have unveiled campaigns to replace Smith.
After mulling a Senate run herself and hosting town hall events throughout the state, Craig is now officially in the race for the open seat. Many Democrats believe that her candidacy provides the DFL with their strongest opportunity to keep the seat in Democrat hands.
“We’ve got a hell of a fight on our hands,” said Craig in announcing her campaign. “Trump and Musk are burning our government down. Rising costs threaten the middle class. And for too many, hard work isn’t paying off like it used to. We must do better.”
Craig first won public office in 2018 when she flipped a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that covered much of Minnesota’s south metro area. Prior to Craig’s victory in that district, Minnesota’s Second Congressional District had been held by Republicans for 16 years.
Initially, Craig’s margins of victory in the House varied between 2 and 5 points. In 2024, she registered her largest win ever with a 13-point victory over Republican Joe Teirab. That year, Craig outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 30,000 votes in the district, likely winning several thousand Trump voters during the 2024 election.
The fourth-term congresswoman has also raised $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025 as a candidate seeking reelection to her House seat. Under Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules, Craig can easily transfer those funds to her new Senate campaign. That $1.2 million figure far outpaces the fundraising numbers of the other contenders for U.S. Senate.
In a DFL primary, Craig will likely be considered a “moderate” candidate competing against more left-wing opponents. The congresswoman’s reputation as a “moderate” is largely due to her vocal rejections of left-wing initiatives such as “Defund the Police.”
Despite this reputation, Craig does have a left-wing record that includes voting with President Joe Biden 100% of the time during the 117th Congress, opposing efforts to ban biological males from female sports, and opposing efforts to establish protections for babies who survive attempted abortions.
On the Republican side of the U.S. Senate race, former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze and 2024 GOP nominee for U.S. Senate Royce White are running for the open seat.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
