Fresh off a 13-point victory in her swing district, Rep. Angie Craig — whose area spans southern Twin Cities suburbs to the heart of Minnesota corn and soybean country — is vying to be the top Democrat on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee in January.
Angie Craig aims to be top Dem on influential Agriculture Committee
The swing-district congresswoman recently won re-election to the U.S. House by double digits and wants to build trust with rural Americans.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 25, 2024 at 3:52PM
In a letter to colleagues dated Monday, Craig framed her pitch as a return to rural values for a party that lost the presidency and control of the U.S. Senate in November’s elections.
“Right now, I worry that too many rural Americans don’t trust that Democrats have their best interests at heart,” Craig wrote. “It’s my mission to work with you to help change their minds.”
Craig has maintained close ties with both production agriculture and small-farmer groups during her time in Congress. First elected to Congress in 2018, Craig would be the first openly gay member to chair the Agriculture Committee.
“I was glad to hear she was going to put her name in the hat,” said Dan Glessing, a Wright County dairy farmer and president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau. “She’s been a great friend of the farmer.”
Throughout 2024, Rep. David Scott, the 79-year-old Democratic ranking member from the Atlanta suburbs, has drawn scrutiny over health issues. Scott was the first African American to chair the House Agriculture Committee from 2021 to 2023.
Last week, according to Politico, Rep. Jim Costa, a California Democrat, informed colleagues of his intention to seek the ranking seat when the next Congress convenes in January.
On the committee, Craig has been a vocal supporter of biofuels, calling on the Biden administration earlier this year to adopt the ethanol industry’s preferred eligibility requirements for sustainable aviation fuel.
The 52-year-old has also supported the administration’s climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the many sticking points embroiling talks to extend the Farm Bill.
If Craig takes the ranking member spot in the House, she’ll join another Minnesotan — Sen. Amy Klobuchar — as the top voice for their party on agriculture and rural issues. Following the retirement of Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Klobuchar is set to become the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Earlier this month at an agriculture industry conference in Minneapolis, Klobuchar called on Congress to pass a new Farm Bill before the end of the year.
The Minnesota Democrat aims for the ranking member post in the next Congress, but some are sticking by Democrats’ current leader.
