Craig Anthony Washington (born October 12, 1941) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

who served in the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. The son of Roy and Azalia Washington, Washington graduated from

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

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 Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

's law school.

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, 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 to the

101st United States Congress The 101st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, ...

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 The 102nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

and

103rd United States Congress The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 199 ...

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. In March 1994, Washington was routed in the Democratic primary by Houston City Councilwoman

Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee ( Jackson; January 12, 1950 – July 19, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for , from 1995 until her death in 2024. The district includes most of central Houston. She was a member of ...

, 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 Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Bastrop, Texas Bastrop () is a city and the county seat of Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,688 according to the 2020 census. It is located about southeast of Austin and is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. History S ...

References

External links

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

Career

See also

References

External links