David Craig (born March 16, 1979) is an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician and former state legislator. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate and six years in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

.Senator David Craig
Wisconsin State Legislature.

Early life and education

Craig was born in Waukesha on March 16, 1979. He graduated from

Wisconsin Lutheran High School Wisconsin Lutheran High School, commonly referred to as WLHS or Wisco, is a private preparatory religious high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WLHS was formed when the Lutheran High School in Milwaukee, founded in 1903, split in the 1950s over d ...

in 1997. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

, earning his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the latter in 2002.

Political career

Craig worked for more than eight years as a congressional aide to U.S. Representative

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...

Republican out of Ryan's Kenosha office; he was also on the Big Bend village board of trustees from 2008 to 2010. Craig was elected to the

in a special election held in May 2011 to fill the seat vacated by Scott Gunderson, who had resigned to work as an executive assistant at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.Dave Craig Kicks Off Campaign in Muskego
''Muskego Patch'', February 25, 2011.Don Behm

''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (May 3, 2011). The district spanned parts of Waukesha,

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

, and

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

counties. In announcing his run for office, Craig expressed strong support for Governor Scott Walker and his economic policies. Craig was endorsed by Ryan and Muskego mayor John Johnson. Craig was reelected to the Assembly in 2012 and 2014. While in the Assembly, Craig was chairs of the Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions and vice chair of the Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations. Craig was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2016, in an uncontested race. In 2017, Craig was the lone Republican senator to vote against the state budget bill, believing that the budget was too high. Craig considered running to succeed Ryan as a member of Congress from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in 2018, but ultimately declined to run.James B. Nelson & Mary Spicuzza
Robin Vos, David Craig won't seek First Congressional District seat now held by House Speaker Paul Ryan
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (April 4, 2018).

Personal life

Craig is married and has six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, David 1979 births Living people Wisconsin city council members Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Politicians from Waukesha, Wisconsin People from Big Bend, Waukesha County, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni United States congressional aides 21st-century American politicians