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For the football player of the same name see Larry Craig (football player).
| Larry Craig | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from Idaho | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1991Serving with Mike Crapo | |
| Preceded by | Jim McClure(R) |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2009) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st district | |
| In office January 5, 1981–January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Symms |
| Succeeded by | Larry LaRocco |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Suzanne Thompson |
| Profession | Rancher |
Larry Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is the senior United States Senator from Idaho. He is a member of the Republican Party, and has been a Senator since 1991; he was a U.S. Representative from 1981 to 1991.
Early life and education
Craig was born in Council, Idaho, to Dorothy Lenore McCord and Elvin Oren Craig. He grew up on a ranch outside Midvale in Washington County. In 1969, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Idaho, where he served as student body president and was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. He pursued graduate studies at George Washington University before returning to his family's Midvale ranching business in 1971. Craig was a member of the Idaho National Guard from 1970 to 1972, attaining the rank of E3.
Idaho Legislature
Craig was elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1974 and reelected in 1976 and 1978.
U.S. Congress
Including his service in the House of Representatives, as of 2007 Craig is the second-longest serving member of the United States Congress in Idaho history, trailing only William E. Borah. If reelected in 2008 Craig would pass Borah in November 2013.
Strongly Opposes Same-sex domestic partnership benefits. YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. NO on prohibiting job discrimination sexual orientation. NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
House of Representatives
In 1980, Craig was elected to an open seat in the United States House of Representatives; he succeeded Steve Symms, who stood for the United States Senate, as representative for the first congressional district of Idaho. He was re-elected four times, serving until 1991. While in the House, he supported Ronald Reagan's push to expand vocational education.
U.S. Senate
Elections
In 1990, Craig announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat to be vacated by the retiring Jim McClure. Craig defeated Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones in the Republican primary and former state legislator Ron J. Twilegar in the general election, getting 57 percent of the vote. Craig was reelected in 1996 with 57 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Walt Minnick, and in 2002, when he spent $3.2 million to defeat Alan Blinken, winning with 65 percent of the vote.
Craig has not indicated if he will run for reelection in 2008. Announced candidates include Democrat Larry LaRocco, a former Congressman. Lt. Governor Jim Risch is a possible Republican candidate if Craig retires.
Committees
Craig was chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1997 until 2003. He then became chairman of the Special Committee on Aging. He is currently the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and a member of the Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He serves as the ranking member of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.
Political positions and actions
Craig is a long-time, leading advocate for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In May 2003, Craig put a hold on more than 200 Air Force promotions in an attempt to pressure the Air Force to station four new C-130 cargo planes in Idaho, saying that he received a commitment from the Air Force almost seven years earlier that the planes would be delivered. Defense officials said the reason the C-130s had not been sent to Idaho was that no new aircraft were being manufactured for the type of transport mission done by the Idaho Air National Guard unit where Craig wanted the planes delivered.
Craig is a supporter of the guest-worker program proposed by President George W. Bush. In April 2005, Craig attempted to amend an Iraq War supplemental bill with an AgJOBS amendment that would have granted legal status to between 500,000 and 1 million illegal immigrants in farm work. The amendment received 53 votes; 60 were needed because the amendment was not relevant to the matter at hand. A version of the AgJOBS bill legislation was included in the Senate-passed immigration reform bill in 2006.
Craig, the principal sponsor of AgJOBS, continues to support amnesty for illegal immigrants who are "trusted workers with a significant work history in American agriculture." This position has been sharply criticized by anti-immigration activists.
In October 2005, Craig suggested that flooded sections of New Orleans should be abandoned after Hurricane Katrina had hit. "Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in the state of Louisiana as well." Craig was quoted as saying in a local paper.
On December 16, 2005, Craig voted against a cloture motion filed relative to the USA PATRIOT Act; the motion ultimately earned only 52 votes, and so a Democratic filibuster against extension of the Act (due to expire at the end of 2005) was permitted to continue. On December 21, 2005, Craig backed a six-month extension of the Act while further negotiations took place. On February 9, 2006, Craig announced an agreement between himself, the White House, and fellow Senators John E. Sununu, Arlen Specter, Lisa Murkowski, Chuck Hagel, and Richard Durbin to reauthorize the Act.
In 2006, Craig posted to his Senate website all the earmarks he had inserted into federal spending bills since joining the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1998.
The American Conservative Union gave Craig's 2005 voting record 96 points out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 15. Considered a social conservative, Craig has long been an advocate of adoption. Senator Craig supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, voting for cloture on the amendment in both 2004 and 2006. He voted against cloture on a bill in 2002, which would have extended the federal definition hate crimes to cover sexual orientation.
On June 26, 2007, Craig once again reiterated his support for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007.
Personal
Craig is married and has adopted the three children that his wife, Suzanne, had from her previous marriage - her two sons Mike and Jay, and her daughter, Shae. . Through his adopted children, Craig has nine grandchildren.
In 1995, Craig formed a barbershop quartet called The Singing Senators with Senators Trent Lott, John Ashcroft, and James Jeffords.
On August 27, 2007 Sen. Craig pled guilty after he was arrested in a Minneapolis Airport Men's Room involved in lewd conduct. Even though he entered a guilty plea to the offense, he insisted there was no illegal conduct involved. Sen. Craig is a conservative Republican who has not been friendly to Gay and Lesbian issues. His recent guilty plea suggests he may have homosexual tendencies himself, so it is ironic he would oppose Human Rights involving the LGBT community.
Sexuality
According to CNN and NNDB On 17 October 2006, gay activist Mike Rogers wrote on his blog, "I have done extensive research into this case, including trips to the Pacific Northwest to meet with men who have say they have physical relations with the Senator. I have also met with a man here in Washington, D.C., who says the same -- and that these incidents occurred in the bathrooms of Union Station. None of these men know each other, or knew that I was talking to others. They all reported similar personal characteristics about the Senator, which lead me to believe, beyond any doubt, that their stories are valid."
Arrest and conviction
| This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this section may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this section or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (August 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On June 11, 2007, Senator Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of lewd conduct. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on August 8, 2007, in a Hennepin County, Minnesota court. He paid a $1000 in fine and $575 fees and was given one year of unsupervised probation. A 10-day jail sentence was stayed. According to Roll Call, the arresting officer filed the following in his report of the incident:
- At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot.... The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area. Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times.
Craig stated "that he has a wide stance when going to the bathroom and that his foot may have touched mine," the arrest report states. Craig also told the arresting officer that he reached down with his right hand to pick up a piece of paper that was on the floor. "It should be noted that there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper," the arresting officer said in the report.
At one point Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, "What do you think about that?" A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a 'he said/he said misunderstanding,' and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.
In a press release on his website , Craig said he should have sought legal counsel before pleading guilty to the charges from June 11th, and now wishes he had done so.
Other
Prior to the nomination of Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Craig was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed Gale Norton as United States Secretary of the Interior in March 2006.
Craig has been on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association since 1983.
Footnotes
- ^ Congressional biography
- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/craig.htm
- "Veterans in the US Senate 109th Congress" (PDF). Navy League. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
- Official biography
- LaRocco to run for Senate; Craig mum on future Accessed 6 April 2007
- "Idaho senator holds up Air Force promotions: Dispute over cargo planes at issue", Kate Snow, Steve Turnham and Trish Turner, CNN, June 10, 2003
- San Diego Tribune Legal status for undocumented farmworkers fails April 20, 2005
- Putting our Immigration Policies to work Accessed 10 April 2007
- Vasquez will challenge Craig in 2008 Accessed 10 April 2007
- "Senator: LA is as Corrupt as Iraq", WAFB (Louisiana), October 18, 2005
- CNN.com Patriot Act renewal fails in Senate. December 17, 2005.
- USA TODAY Senate strikes deal to extend Patriot Act, December 21, 2005.
- CBS News Agreement Reached on Patriot Act Changes, February 10, 2006.
- Idaho Initiatives Page from Craig's website
- Senate: Roll Call
- Associated Press Election Coverage, October 18, 2006. Retrieved 10/18/2006
- . Retrieved 03/23/07
- Wired News They Put the Party in GOP 19 April, 2000.
- "Senator pleads to disorderly conduct" Associated Press (@Yahoo! News) - Monday August 27, 2007
- McArdle, John. "Craig Arrested, Pleads Guilty Following Incident in Airport Restroom" - Roll Call - Monday, Aug. 27, 2007
- Red Orbit Kempthorne, Craig Could Be Nominees, March 11, 2006.
- NRA 2007 Official Ballot, up for re-election of a three year term
External links
- United States Senator Larry Craig official Senate site
- United States Congress. "Larry Craig (id: c000858)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Federal Election Commission — Larry E. Craig campaign finance reports and data
- New York Times — Larry E. Craig News collected news and commentary
- On the Issues — Larry Craig issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Larry Craig campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Senator Larry E. Craig (ID) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Larry Craig profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Larry Craig voting record
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded bySteven Symms | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st congressional district 1981–1991 |
Succeeded byLarry LaRocco |
| Preceded byJim McClure | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Idaho 1991–Present Served alongside: Steve Symms, Dirk Kempthorne, Mike Crapo |
Succeeded byIncumbent |
| Preceded byDon Nickles Oklahoma |
Chairman of Senate Republican Policy Commmittee 1996–2003 |
Succeeded byJon Kyl Arizona |
| Preceded byJohn Breaux Louisiana |
Chairman of Senate Aging Commmittee 2003–2005 |
Succeeded byGordon Smith Oregon |
| Preceded byArlen Specter Pennsylvania |
Chairman of Senate Veterans' Affairs Commmittee 2005–2007 |
Succeeded byDaniel Akaka Hawaii |
| Members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territorial (1863–1890) |
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| One at-large seat (1890–1913) |
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| Two at-large seats (1913–1919) |
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| Districts (1919–present) |
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| Idaho's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
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| Senators |
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| Representatives (ordered by district) |
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| Current United States senators | ||
|---|---|---|
| President: ▌ Kamala Harris (D) ‧ President pro tempore: ▌ Patty Murray (D) | ||
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