Craig Woodard

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Craig Woodard

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Norte Vista High School

Personal

Birthplace

Topeka, KS

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Retired

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Personal X

Craig Woodard (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 16-Position 2. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Woodard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Craig Woodard was born in Topeka, Kansas. He earned a high school diploma from Norte Vista High School. As of 2024, Woodard was retired but previously worked as a union trained electrician. As of 2024, he was affiliated with Walla Walla County Democrats, Little Theatre of Walla Walla, and Walla Walla Noon Rotary.

Elections

2024

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2

Incumbent Skyler Rude defeated Craig Woodard in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Skyler Rude (R)	65.8	46,596
		Craig Woodard (D)	34.1	24,145
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	40

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,781
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2

Incumbent Skyler Rude and Craig Woodard advanced from the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Skyler Rude (R)	66.7	23,927
✔		Craig Woodard (D)	33.2	11,895
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	40

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,862
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Woodard in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Craig Woodard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Woodard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a retired union electrcian, retired after 43 years in the construction industry.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• High paying union jobs and apprenticeship programs
• Affordable healthcare, and childcare
• Homelessness and the housing crisis

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

A woman’s right to choose. And the decimation of the middle class due to wages not keeping up with productivity, the wealth gap is damaging to this democracy!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father, because he was the smartest man I know and he taught all of us kids about the evils of racism, and inequity. His kindness and love toward his fellow persons was always obvious and he was an advocate against the death penalty.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The audacity of hope, by Barrack Obama

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty and integrity.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a very good listener and I have a strong desire to help people.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent the interests and values of the the people who elected them to office

What legacy would you like to leave?

That of making a difference in someone’s life

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

JFK assassination, I was 4

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Fish fry cook about 2 years

What is your favorite book? Why?

1984 by George Orwell, because it is not necessarily prophetic, but it should serve as a warning

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Atticus Finch

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Poems, prayers and promises by John Denver

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Losing both of my grandfathers and my maternal grandmother before I was 8 years old

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Respectful and cooperative

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Climate change and appropriations in the proper areas

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes, but it’s like any other career, you have to have a starting point

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Absolutely! It takes team work to move ideas and create solutions to the benefit of all

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Tip O’Neil

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Quite possibly

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yes there are several but one that really sticks out is a friend who was cut down by a stroke at a fairly young age and ended up in a wheelchair. He actually went back to work for a time and was able to retire early, he was not expected to live very long, but he was determined , and, I’m happy to say, still with us long after the doctors thought he would be gone. Still has a great attitude and a smiling face!

Tell us your favorite joke.

Where does a pirate shop for hooks? At the second hand store!

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Yes

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

I would like to see more state enforcement and oversight of the public works bidding process to ensure local labor is preferred over out of state labor and that they are paid the prevailing wages and benefits.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

16th LD central committee, Walla Walla Democrats central committee, alliance for gun responsibility, and Franklin county Democrat central committee

What committees interest you?

Healthcare, labor, and education

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

It is essential to a government by the people for the people to be transparent and be held accountable. Freedom of the press is essential to this goal.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I support changes that put more authority into the hands of the people.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Craig Woodard campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2	Lost general	$24,226	$22,871
Grand total			$24,226	$22,871
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Washington House of Representatives District 16-Position 2

Website

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Washington House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Laurie Jinkins

Majority Leader:Joe Fitzgibbon

Minority Leader:Drew Stokesbary

Representatives

District 1-Position 1

Davina Duerr (D)

District 1-Position 2

Shelley Kloba (D)

District 2-Position 1

Andrew Barkis (R)

District 2-Position 2

Matt Marshall (R)

District 3-Position 1

Natasha Hill (D)

District 3-Position 2

Timm Ormsby (D)

District 4-Position 1

Suzanne Schmidt (R)

District 4-Position 2

Rob Chase (R)

District 5-Position 1

Zach Hall (D)

District 5-Position 2

Lisa Callan (D)

District 6-Position 1

Mike Volz (R)

District 6-Position 2

Jenny Graham (R)

District 7-Position 1

David Engell (R)

District 7-Position 2

Hunter Abell (R)

District 8-Position 1

Stephanie Barnard (R)

District 8-Position 2

April Connors (R)

District 9-Position 1

Mary Dye (R)

District 9-Position 2

Joe Schmick (R)

District 10-Position 1

Clyde Shavers (D)

District 10-Position 2

Dave Paul (D)

District 11-Position 1

David Hackney (D)

District 11-Position 2

Steve Bergquist (D)

District 12-Position 1

Brian Burnett (R)

District 12-Position 2

Mike Steele (R)

District 13-Position 1

Tom Dent (R)

District 13-Position 2

Alex Ybarra (R)

District 14-Position 1

Gloria Mendoza (R)

District 14-Position 2

Deb Manjarrez (R)

District 15-Position 1

Chris Corry (R)

District 15-Position 2

Jeremie Dufault (R)

District 16-Position 1

Mark Klicker (R)

District 16-Position 2

Skyler Rude (R)

District 17-Position 1

Kevin Waters (R)

District 17-Position 2

David Stuebe (R)

District 18-Position 1

Stephanie McClintock (R)

District 18-Position 2

John Ley (R)

District 19-Position 1

Jim Walsh (R)

District 19-Position 2

Joel McEntire (R)

District 20-Position 1

Peter Abbarno (R)

District 20-Position 2

Ed Orcutt (R)

District 21-Position 1

Strom Peterson (D)

District 21-Position 2

Lillian Ortiz-Self (D)

District 22-Position 1

Beth Doglio (D)

District 22-Position 2

Lisa Parshley (D)

District 23-Position 1

Tarra Simmons (D)

District 23-Position 2

Greg Nance (D)

District 24-Position 1

Adam Bernbaum (D)

District 24-Position 2

Steve Tharinger (D)

District 25-Position 1

Michael Keaton (R)

District 25-Position 2

Cyndy Jacobsen (R)

District 26-Position 1

Adison Richards (D)

District 26-Position 2

Michelle Caldier (R)

District 27-Position 1

Laurie Jinkins (D)

District 27-Position 2

Jake Fey (D)

District 28-Position 1

Mari Leavitt (D)

District 28-Position 2

Dan Bronoske (D)

District 29-Position 1

Melanie Morgan (D)

District 29-Position 2

Sharlett Mena (D)

District 30-Position 1

Jamila Taylor (D)

District 30-Position 2

Kristine Reeves (D)

District 31-Position 1

Drew Stokesbary (R)

District 31-Position 2

Josh Penner (R)

District 32-Position 1

Cindy Ryu (D)

District 32-Position 2

Lauren Davis (D)

District 33-Position 1

Edwin Obras (D)

District 33-Position 2

Mia Gregerson (D)

District 34-Position 1

Brianna Thomas (D)

District 34-Position 2

Joe Fitzgibbon (D)

District 35-Position 1

Dan Griffey (R)

District 35-Position 2

Travis Couture (R)

District 36-Position 1

Julia Reed (D)

District 36-Position 2

Liz Berry (D)

District 37-Position 1

Sharon Santos (D)

District 37-Position 2

Chipalo Street (D)

District 38-Position 1

Julio Cortes (D)

District 38-Position 2

Mary Fosse (D)

District 39-Position 1

Sam Low (R)

District 39-Position 2

Carolyn Eslick (R)

District 40-Position 1

Debra Lekanoff (D)

District 40-Position 2

Alex Ramel (D)

District 41-Position 1

Janice Zahn (D)

District 41-Position 2

My-Linh Thai (D)

District 42-Position 1

Alicia Rule (D)

District 42-Position 2

Joe Timmons (D)

District 43-Position 1

Nicole Macri (D)

District 43-Position 2

Shaun Scott (D)

District 44-Position 1

Brandy Donaghy (D)

District 44-Position 2

April Berg (D)

District 45-Position 1

Roger Goodman (D)

District 45-Position 2

Larry Springer (D)

District 46-Position 1

Gerry Pollet (D)

District 46-Position 2

Darya Farivar (D)

District 47-Position 1

Debra Entenman (D)

District 47-Position 2

Chris Stearns (D)

District 48-Position 1

Osman Salahuddin (D)

District 48-Position 2

Amy Walen (D)

District 49-Position 1

Sharon Wylie (D)

District 49-Position 2

Monica Stonier (D)

Democratic Party (59)

Republican Party (39)