Angie Craig launches bid for U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON - Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig entered the U.S. Senate race Tuesday, joining a growing field to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith.

Craig’s entry to the Senate race means she won’t seek a fifth term to her U.S. House seat, a move that’s likely to create a competitive contest to replace her in the Second Congressional District.

Craig’s announcement comes as she’s been raising her profile in recent weeks by holding town halls in the districts of the four Republican members of the Minnesota congressional delegation who have opted to hold virtual town halls instead.

She joins the Democratic field with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former state Sen. Melisa López Franzen, who have been campaigning for the last several weeks. She also joins the race with the most money of the Democrats in the field.

Her congressional campaign reported more than $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025, money that she will be able to transfer to her Senate bid.

Craig vowed to fight back against the “chaos and corruption coming out of Washington” in a campaign launch video. She talked about her rise from an “underdog” having grown up in a mobile home park raised by a single mother to eventually going on to win a competitive House seat that had been held by Republicans.

She took a swipe at “unelected” billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, who she said is “trampling our rights and freedoms as he profits for personal gains.” Craig also accused the Republican Party of “rolling over and letting it all happen.”

“We’ve gotta break through the chaos and take them head on,” Craig said in the video. “I know what it’s like to be knocked down and counted out, to be the underdog.”

Former NBA player Royce White and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze are running for the U.S. Senate in the Republican field.

Over the years, Craig has been able to win a historically purple district by establishing a more moderate brand for herself.

She’s taken more conservative positions on issues like immigration and law enforcement and was one of the first Democrats to call on former President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

Last year Craig outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz in a tough year for Democrats, winning by the biggest margin of her congressional career.

Running for re-election to her House seat would have likely been her easiest run yet.

Republicans had said they would not actively target her congressional seat if she remained in the House. Now that she’s running for Senate, it’s likely to put the Second Congressional District back on the GOP’s target list and create a crowded Democratic primary.

Craig was recently elected ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, a similar position that Sen. Amy Klobuchar also holds in the upper chamber.

Craig’s decision comes as Republicans are trying to hold their slim House majority and are eager to find districts that can help them expand the map. Democrats need to win five seats to take back the majority.

Craig running for Senate could complicate their path, but she’s said she believes she made the district safe enough to hand off to another Democrat to win.