{{Short description|American politician (1949–2024)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = | state_house = Tennessee | district = 90th | term_start = 1973 | term_end = 1975 | preceded = William V. Lawson Jr. | succeeded = John W. Spence | party = Republican | birth_date = {{birth date|1949|10|19}} | birth_place = Proctor, Arkansas, U.S. | death_date = {{dda|2024|12|19|1949|10|19}} | death_place = }} '''Henry N. Craft Jr.''' (October 19, 1949 – December 19, 2024) was an American politician from the state of Tennessee. He served as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975.
==Biography== Craft was born in Proctor, Arkansas, a farm settlement in Crittenden County. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 12, and graduated from Memphis University School in 1967, Vanderbilt University in 1971, and the Mississippi College School of Law in 1980.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2024/12/30/497181/Henry-N.-Craft.aspx|title=Craft, Henry N.: Former State Representative For Tennessee|work=The Chattanoogan|date=December 30, 2024}}</ref> As a law student, he pulled off an upset in the Republican primary for the Memphis-based 90th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, defeating two-term incumbent William V. Lawson Jr.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-press-scimitar/163228417/|title=GOP Upset, Demo Write-Ins Set Lively Legislative Races|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar|date=August 4, 1972}}</ref> After winning by a large margin in 1972, he was defeated by Democrat John W. Spence in 1974.<ref name=defeat/> Craft would later become a Libertarian. After practicing law in Memphis, he worked at the Commodity Exchange in New York from 1989 to 2000, then relocated to Chattanooga. He died on December 19, 2024.<ref name=obit/>
==Electoral history== ===1972=== ====Primary election==== {{Election box begin no change|title=Tennessee House of Representatives, District 90, 1972 primary election<br>* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-press-scimitar/163228133/|title=Shelby County Election Totals|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar|date=August 4, 1972}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Henry Craft|votes=1278|percentage=53.4}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=William V. Lawson Jr. *|votes=1114|percentage=46.6}} {{Election box total no change|votes=2392|percentage=100}} {{Election box end}} ====General election==== {{Election box begin no change|title=Tennessee House of Representatives, District 90, 1972 general election<br>* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal/163229658/|title=Counting The Votes In Tennessee And Shelby County|work=The Commercial Appeal|date=November 9, 1972}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Henry Craft|votes=7896|percentage=63.9}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Howard A. Cohn|votes=4462|percentage=36.1}} {{Election box total no change|votes=12358|percentage=100}} {{Election box end}} ===1974=== ====Primary election==== {{Election box begin no change|title=Tennessee House of Representatives, District 90, 1974 primary election<br>* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-press-scimitar/163231049/|title=Shelby County Primary Election Returns-at-a-Glance|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar|date=August 2, 1974}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Henry Craft *|votes=2017|percentage=63.7}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Ron Poe|votes=1003|percentage=31.7}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Mary Belle Manley|votes=144|percentage=4.6}} {{Election box total no change|votes=3164|percentage=100}} {{Election box end}} ====General election==== {{Election box begin no change|title=Tennessee House of Representatives, District 90, 1974 general election<br>* denotes incumbent{{nb5}}Source:<ref name=defeat>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-memphis-press-scimitar/163231312/|title=Vote Tally Is Now Official|work=The Memphis Press-Scimitar|date=November 18, 1974}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=John W. Spence|votes=5343|percentage=50.4}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Henry Craft *|votes=5263|percentage=49.6}} {{Election box total no change|votes=10606|percentage=100}} {{Election box end}}
==External links== *[https://www.capitol.tn.gov/House/Archives/88GA/Members/h90.htm Legislative profile]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Henry}} Category:1949 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Category:20th-century Tennessee politicians Category:Memphis University School alumni Category:Vanderbilt University alumni Category:Mississippi College School of Law alumni Category:People from Crittenden County, Arkansas
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