Editing Larry Craig (section)

{{Short description|American politician (born 1945)}}
{{for|the American football player|Larry Craig (American football)}}
{{redirect|Senator Craig}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Larry Craig
|image         = Larry Craig official portrait - cropped.jpg
|jr/sr         = United States Senator
|state         = [[Idaho]]
|term_start    = January 3, 1991
|term_end      = January 3, 2009
|predecessor   = [[James A. McClure|Jim McClure]]
|successor     = [[Jim Risch]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Senate positions|titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
|office1       = Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]]
|term_start1   = January 3, 2007
|term_end1     = August 29, 2007
|predecessor1  = [[Daniel Akaka]]
|successor1    = [[Richard Burr]]
|office2       = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]]
|term_start2   = January 3, 2005
|term_end2     = January 3, 2007
|predecessor2  = [[Arlen Specter]]
|successor2    = [[Daniel Akaka]]
|office3       = Chair of the [[United States Senate Special Committee on Aging|Senate Aging Committee]]
|term_start3   = January 3, 2003
|term_end3     = January 3, 2005
|predecessor3  = John Breaux
|successor3    = [[Gordon H. Smith]]
|term_start4   = January 20, 2001
|term_end4     = June 6, 2001
|predecessor4  = John Breaux
|successor4    = [[John Breaux]]
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
|state5        = [[Idaho]]
|district5     = {{ushr|ID|1|1st}}
|term_start5   = January 3, 1981
|term_end5     = January 3, 1991
|predecessor5  = [[Steve Symms]]
|successor5    = [[Larry LaRocco]]
|state_senate6 = Idaho
|district6     = [[Idaho's 10th legislative district|10th]]
|term_start6   = 1974
|term_end6     = 1980
|predecessor6  = 
|successor6    = [[Roger Fairchild]]
|birth_name    = Lawrence Edwin Craig
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1945|7|20}}
|birth_place   = [[Council, Idaho]], U.S.
|death_date    = 
|death_place   = 
|party         = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse        = Suzanne Thompson
|education     = [[University of Idaho]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
|signature     = Larry Craig signature.gif
|allegiance    = {{flag|United States}}
|branch        = {{army|United States}}
|serviceyears  = 1970–1972
|rank          = [[Private first class]]
|unit          = [[Army National Guard]]<br>{{*}}[[Idaho Army National Guard]]
|module      = {{Listen
|pos         = center
|embed       = yes
|filename    = Sen. Larry Craig on Nuclear Energy.ogg
|title       = Craig's voice
|type        = speech
|description = Craig on nuclear energy legislation<br/>Recorded January 29, 2008}}
}}
'''Lawrence Edwin Craig''' (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Craig represented Idaho in the [[United States Senate]] from 1991 to 2009 and represented [[Idaho's 1st congressional district|Idaho's 1st District]] in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] from 1981 to 1991.<ref name="congress_bio">{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000858 |title=CRAIG, Larry Edwin – Biographical Information |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=September 1, 2007 |archive-date=February 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203164209/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000858 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Born in [[Council, Idaho]], Craig was raised on a ranch in [[Washington County, Idaho|Washington County]]. He attended the [[University of Idaho]], receiving a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[political science]] from the university in 1969, and later briefly attended [[George Washington University]] before returning to Washington County in 1971 to work in his family's ranching business. Following a brief stint in the [[Idaho Army National Guard]], Craig ran for and won a seat in the [[Idaho Senate]] in 1974, and was re-elected in 1976 and 1978, before his successful first run for Congress to represent [[Idaho's 1st congressional district]] in the House of Representatives in 1980. He won reelection four times before running for the U.S. Senate in [[1990 United States Senate election in Idaho|1990]], defeating [[Ron J. Twilegar]] in the general election and winning reelection in [[1996 United States Senate election in Idaho|1996]] and [[2002 United States Senate election in Idaho|2002]].

On June 11, 2007, Craig was [[Larry Craig scandal|arrested for indecent behavior]] in a [[public toilet|men's restroom]] at [[Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport]]; he pleaded guilty to a charge of [[disorderly conduct]] in August 2007 and paid $575 in court fines and fees. The arrest remained unknown to the public until the [[Washington, D.C.]]–based newspaper ''[[Roll Call]]'' disclosed it in an article, drawing widespread public attention as well as charges of [[hypocrisy]] against Craig, as he had been an opponent of [[LGBT rights in the United States]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/washington/29craig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |title=Idaho Senator Says He Regrets Guilty Plea in Restroom Incident |last=Murphy |first=Patti |author2=[[David Stout]] |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 29, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2007 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308221005/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/washington/29craig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite stating that he was not and never had been homosexual, Craig announced on September 1, 2007 that he would resign from the Senate effective September 30, 2007. He later reversed this decision and chose to finish the remainder of his term, although he did not seek re-election in [[United States Senate election in Idaho, 2008|2008]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0435164920071004 |work=Reuters |title=Sen. Craig won't resign in sex sting plea |author=Thomas Ferraro |date=October 4, 2007 |access-date=October 4, 2007 |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012192838/http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0435164920071004 |url-status=live }}</ref>