Editing Craig Washington

{{short description|American politician}}

{{BLP sources|date=March 2010}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Craig Anthony Washington
| image         = Craig Washington 102nd Congress 1991.jpg
| caption       =
| state         = [[Texas]]
| district      = [[Texas's 18th congressional district|18th]]
| term_start    = December 9, 1989
| term_end      = January 3, 1995
| predecessor   = [[Mickey Leland]]
| successor     = [[Sheila Jackson Lee]]
| majority      =
| state_senate2 = Texas
| term_start2   = January 11, 1983
| term_end2     = January 23, 1990
| predecessor2  = Walter Mengden
| successor2    = [[Rodney Ellis]]
| district2     = [[Texas Senate, District 13|13th]]
| majority2     =
| state_house3  = Texas
| term_start3   = January 9, 1973
| term_end3     = January 11, 1983
| predecessor3  = Charles Finnell
| successor3    = Larry Q. Evans
| district3     = [[Texas's 86th House of Representatives district|86th]]
| majority3     =
| birth_name    = Craig Anthony Washington
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1941|10|12}}
| birth_place   = [[Longview, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse        =
| children      = 5
| residence     = [[Houston, Texas]]
| education     = [[Prairie View A&M University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Texas Southern University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| occupation    = [[Lawyer|Attorney]]
| signature     =
| website       =
| footnotes     =
}}

'''Craig Anthony Washington''' (born October 12, 1941) is an American lawyer and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] politician from [[Texas]] who served in the [[Texas State Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives]].

The son of Roy and Azalia Washington, Washington graduated from [[Prairie View A&M University]] in 1966 and was originally interested in becoming a doctor, but as admissions to medical school had already ceased, Washington decided to instead apply at [[Texas Southern University]]'s law school.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}

==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]].

== See also ==
* [[List of African-American United States representatives]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{CongLinks | congbio=W000177}}
*{{C-SPAN|11636}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-tx-hs}}
{{TXHouseSuccession box
|  district = 86
|  hometown = Houston
|  before=[[Charles Finnell]]
|  after=[[Larry Q. Evans]]
|  years=1973–1983
}}
{{s-par|us-tx-sen}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Walter Mengden]]}}
{{s-ttl
|  title= [[Texas Senate|Texas State Senator]]<br />from&nbsp;[[Texas Senate, District 13|District&nbsp;13]] (Houston)
|  years= 1983–1989 }}
{{s-aft | rows=1 | after=[[Rodney Ellis]] }}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
|  state=Texas
|  district=18
|  before=[[Mickey Leland]]
|  after=[[Sheila Jackson Lee]]
|  years=December 9, 1989 – January 3, 1995
}}
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bill Sarpalius]]|as=Former US Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former US Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Blake Farenthold]]|as=Former US Representative}}
{{s-end}}
{{USCongRep-start|congresses= 101st–103rd [[United States Congress]] |state=[[Texas]]}}
{{USCongRep/TX/101}}
{{USCongRep/TX/102}}
{{USCongRep/TX/103}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Craig Anthony}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives]]
[[Category:People from Longview, Texas]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Texas state senators]]
[[Category:African-American members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:African-American state legislators in Texas]]
[[Category:Politicians from Houston]]
[[Category:Texas Southern University alumni]]
[[Category:Prairie View A&M University alumni]]
[[Category:Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Texas lawyers]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Texas Legislature]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]