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Thomas Craft
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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Thomas (Tom) Craft was a candidate for the 2014 congressional elections for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district. Craft dropped out of the race after losing the Democratic endorsement to Mike Obermueller in the DFL Second Congressional District Convention.[1]
Craft is a self described "fiscally conservative and socially liberal Democrat" seeking to provide a constructive, moderate alternative to extremist ideologies in Washington politics.
The Democratic Super PAC House Majority PAC listed 2nd District incumbent John Kline (R) as one of 10 they were targeting as vulnerable incumbent Republicans in 2014, with the focus on those holding competitive seats.[2]
Biography
Craft was born in Little Falls, Minnesota and grew up on a rural farm near Staples, Minnesota.
Craft is an alumnus of Staple's Motley High School, where he graduated in 2001. He earned a degree in economics and history at St. John's University four years later. In 2006, he studied Mandarin Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University before earning a Social Science Master's Degree at the University of Chicago.[3]
Craft is a father and tech consultant who lives in the south metro of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.[4]
Issues
Campaign themes
Craft listed the following issues on his campaign website[5]
- Jobs & Economy: "Renewed investments in education, retraining programs, and infrastructure are what are needed to ensure our nation’s future prosperity. In addition, Tom will also do everything he can to break up ‘too big to fail’ banks, to ensure that the American taxpayer is never again given the false choice of bailing out the banks or preparing for a depression."
- Infrastructure:"Tom believes that we need a comprehensive long-term program to bring our nation’s roads and bridges back up to standard, make high-speed internet available to all Americans and invest in the often unseen but essential water and sewer public works."
- Taxes & Budget: "Annual trillion dollar deficits are not acceptable and are unfair to future generations who will be forced to pay for our current consumption with interest. It isn’t fair and it isn’t the American way. Tom believes that we must examine both spending reduction and revenue options to ensure that budget deficits become the exception rather than the norm."
- Education: "Tom will do what he can to ensure that students that have demonstrated hard work and good grades have access to affordable higher education. He also understands personally the burden of student loan debt and will support legislation that allows students to consolidate and refinance their government student loans to take advantage of historically low interest rates."
- Energy & Environment: "Tom also believes that we must make meaningful steps towards reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. He supports increased investments in solar, wind, biomass and other emerging energy technologies because climate change is a real threat to the future peace and prosperity of our planet."
- Immigration: "A nation of immigrants, our current immigration system is failing on so many levels; it is unworthy of the United States of America. We need to promote legal immigration instead of desperate border crossings. We need to encourage the best and brightest to join our startups and provide the intellectual capital we depend on for economic growth. "
- Healthcare: "In one of the most prosperous countries in the world, no citizen should ever have to be worried that if they get sick they won’t get the care they need or that they will go bankrupt treating their illness. That is one of the primary reasons Tom supports the Affordable Care Act. Not only will it ensure that all Americans get the health care they need, it is also a critical step towards stabilizing health care spending for the country and for individuals."
- Foreign Policy: "As the world’s sole superpower, the United State [sic] of America bears significant responsibility for the maintenance of global peace and prosperity. We do this through support of international institutions, trade organizations, and our global military presence. While Tom supports this model, he believes that justification for military intervention must be based on core U.S. interests and must be at the expressed direction of Congress, except in matters of imminent threat."
Campaign finance summary
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Elections
2014
Craft planned to run in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Minnesota's 2nd District.[6] Craft withdrew from the race prior to the Democratic primary on August 12, 2014, after losing the Democratic nomination in the DFL Second Congressional District Convention.
2012
Craft volunteered for fellow DFL contestant Mike Obermueller in the 2012 election before deciding to run his own race in 2014.[4][3]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Craft met his wife, Karolina Wanielista (now Craft), during graduate school at the University of Chicago. The Crafts have two sons named Henry and Leo.[3]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Thomas + Craft + Minnesota + House"
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014
- Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District
External links
- Thomas Craft Campaign Page [1]
- Star Tribune [2]
- MPR News [3]
- Politics in Minnesota [4]
- CBS Minnesota [5]
- Northfield Patch [6]
- Political Notebook [7]
Footnotes
- ↑ Craft for Congress, "Thank you to my Supporters," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Sunshine State News, "Democratic Super-PAC Targets Steve Southerland" April 15, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Thomas Craft Campaign Website
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Minnesota Public Radio: Thomas Craft Announces Bid for Congress
- ↑ Campaign Website, Issues accessed January 14, 2014
- ↑ Campaign Website, About," accessed January 14, 2014
