Editing Craig Washington (section)

==Career==
In 1972, the state of Texas began electing members of the state House of Representatives and State Senate, for the first time, by single-member districts. Washington, along with four other minority candidates, Anthony Hall, [[Mickey Leland|George T. "Mickey" Leland]], [[Benny Reyes]] and Cecil Bush, (dubbed the "People's Five"), ran for seats in the Texas House of Representatives. Washington was elected, and represented District 86 in the state House from 1973 to 1982. He then represented District 13 in the state senate from 1983 until 1989.

Washington was elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to the [[101st United States Congress]] for [[Texas's 18th congressional district]], by special election, December 9, 1989, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mickey Leland. He was reelected to the [[102nd United States Congress]] and [[103rd United States Congress]] and served from December 9, 1989, to January 3, 1995. He took stands against some projects, like the International Space Station, where spending would have flowed to his district.<ref>{{cite news|work=Houston Press|title=What's Driving Miss Shelia?|author=Tim Fleck|date=20 February 1997|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/1997-02-20/news/what-s-driving-miss-shelia/Sheila/|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809034734/http://www.houstonpress.com/1997-02-20/news/what-s-driving-miss-shelia/Sheila/|archivedate=9 August 2011}}</ref>

In March 1994, Washington was routed in the Democratic primary by Houston City Councilwoman [[Sheila Jackson Lee]], winning only 36.5 percent of the vote. Lee won in November and held the seat until her death on July 19, 2024.

Since leaving Congress, Washington has practiced law in [[Houston]] and [[Bastrop, Texas]].