Wendell Craig Williams is a former federal prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney, member of the United States Marine Corps, and member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 160th district. He received his bachelor's degree from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 1987, his J.D. degree from the

University of Florida Levin College of Law The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida, and second oldest overall ...

in 1997 and his master's degree from Columbia University in 2001. Williams served as

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

during the Persian Gulf War. He was later promoted to colonel in the United States Marine Corps.

Personal life

Craig Williams lives in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania with his wife, Jennifer Arbittier Williams, an Assistant United States Attorney, and their four children, Emma, Clayton, Cole, and Charlotte.

Career

Marines

In 1987, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he flew 56 combat missions in the F/A-18D Hornet. In 1996, he became a Marine Judge Advocate and joined the Reserves. In 2005, he was mobilized to active duty to serve as Deputy Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was later selected for promotion to the rank of colonel in the Marine Corps.

Legal work

Williams worked as a federal prosecutor, and served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. During active duty, he served as deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Williams clerked with the Honorable J.L. Edmondson, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Colorado and Pennsylvania, and worked under former

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

General

Richard B. Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

and General Peter Pace.

2008 congressional campaign

Craig Williams announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in
map
. on January 16, 2008. He was endorsed by several high-profile organizations, including The Philadelphia Inquirer. He also received endorsements from, among others, vice presidential nominee

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and former New York City Mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

, all of whom also campaigned for Williams. His campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, losing to the incumbent Joe Sestak.

2020 House of Representatives campaign

Williams was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2020.

Committee assignments

* Aging & Older Adult Services * Human Services * Urban Affairs * Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness

2024 Attorney General election

In November 2023, Williams announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 Pennsylvania Attorney General election. Williams was refused an endorse from both the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, who both endorsed York County District Attorney Dave Sunday instead. The snubs came after Williams boasted before entering the race that he would earn the RAGA endorsement. He has since bucked party support, claiming the endorsements are the work of " Harrisburg insiders" propping a supposed " Democrat" in Sunday.

Electoral history

* 2008 Race for Congress ** Joe Sestak (D) (inc.), 59.6% ** Wendell Craig Williams (R), 40.4%

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Wendell Craig 1965 births 21st-century American politicians American prosecutors Columbia University alumni Duke University alumni Living people People from Selma, Alabama Politicians from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War University of Florida alumni