# Craig Washington > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Craig_Washington > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Craig_Washington.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Washington > Source revision: 1348967635 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American politician}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2010}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Craig Washington | image = Craig Washington 102nd Congress 1991.jpg | state = [Texas](/source/Texas) | district = {{ushr|TX|18|18th}} | term_start = December 9, 1989 | term_end = January 3, 1995{{efn|Washington's official service begins on the date of the [special election](/source/1989_Texas's_18th_congressional_district_special_election), while he was not sworn in until January 23, 1990.{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/dropdowntemplate?id=36507224009&htmlContentID=36507224012 |title=House Vacancies and Successors – 101st Congress (1989–1991) |accessdate=April 14, 2026 |publisher=[Historian of the United States House of Representatives](/source/Historian_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives)}}}} | predecessor = [Mickey Leland](/source/Mickey_Leland) | successor = [Sheila Jackson Lee](/source/Sheila_Jackson_Lee) | state_senate2 = Texas | district2 = [13th](/source/Texas_Senate%2C_District_13) | term_start2 = January 11, 1983 | term_end2 = January 23, 1990 | predecessor2 = Walter Mengden | successor2 = [Rodney Ellis](/source/Rodney_Ellis) | state_house3 = Texas | district3 = [86th](/source/Texas's_86th_House_of_Representatives_district) | term_start3 = January 9, 1973 | term_end3 = January 11, 1983 | predecessor3 = Charles Finnell | successor3 = Larry Evans | birth_name = Craig Anthony Washington | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|10|12}} | birth_place = [Longview, Texas](/source/Longview%2C_Texas), U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) | spouse = | children = 5 | education = [Prairie View A&M University](/source/Prairie_View_A%26M_University) ([BS](/source/Bachelor_of_Science))
[Texas Southern University](/source/Texas_Southern_University) ([JD](/source/Juris_Doctor)) | footnotes = {{noteslist}} }} '''Craig Anthony Washington''' (born October 12, 1941) is an American lawyer and [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) politician from [Texas](/source/Texas) who served in the [Texas State Senate](/source/Texas_State_Senate) and the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives). The son of Roy and Azalia Washington, Washington graduated from [Prairie View A&M University](/source/Prairie_View_A%26M_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](/source/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, [George T. "Mickey" Leland](/source/Mickey_Leland), [Benny Reyes](/source/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 [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) to the [101st United States Congress](/source/101st_United_States_Congress) for [Texas's 18th congressional district](/source/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](/source/102nd_United_States_Congress) and [103rd United States Congress](/source/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.{{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}} In March 1994, Washington was routed in the Democratic primary by Houston City Councilwoman [Sheila Jackson Lee](/source/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](/source/Houston) and [Bastrop, Texas](/source/Bastrop%2C_Texas). == See also == * [List of African-American United States representatives](/source/List_of_African-American_United_States_representatives) == References == {{reflist}} ==External links== {{CongLinks | congbio=W000177}} *{{C-SPAN|11636}} {{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{s-bef|before=[Mickey Leland](/source/Mickey_Leland)}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Texas)
from [Texas's 18th congressional district](/source/Texas's_18th_congressional_district)|years=1989–1995}} {{s-aft|after=[Sheila Jackson Lee](/source/Sheila_Jackson_Lee)}} |- {{s-prec|usa}} {{s-bef|before=[Bill Sarpalius](/source/Bill_Sarpalius)|as=Former U.S. Representative}} {{s-ttl|title=[Order of precedence of the United States](/source/United_States_order_of_precedence)
''{{small|as Former U.S. Representative}}''|years=}} {{s-aft|after=[Beto O'Rourke](/source/Beto_O'Rourke)|as=Former U.S. Representative}} {{s-end}} {{USCongRep-start |congresses=101st–103rd [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress) |state=[Texas](/source/Texas's_congressional_delegations)}} {{USCongRep/TX/101}} {{USCongRep/TX/102}} {{USCongRep/TX/103}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Craig Anthony}} Category:1941 births Category:20th-century African-American politicians Category:20th-century members of the Texas Legislature Category:20th-century United States representatives Category:21st-century African-American politicians Category:African-American United States representatives Category:African-American state legislators in Texas Category:Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Texas Category:Democratic Party Texas state senators Category:Living people Category:People from Longview, Texas Category:Politicians from Houston Category:Prairie View A&M University alumni Category:Texas Democrats Category:Texas lawyers Category:Texas Southern University alumni Category:Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Craig Washington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Washington) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Washington?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.