Representative Craig Williams Contact information

Craig Williams is an American politician who has served as a member of the Iowa Senate from the 6th district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 11, 2021. Born in Rockford, Illinois, Williams grew up in a hardworking family. His father, Gary, often worked three jobs while his mother, Carol, kept the family fed and the kids in line. Among other things, the family moved houses in the fall and worked on them all winter to sell in the spring. Gary later started an excavating business and taught Craig the finer techniques of operating a shovel at the age of 12.

Williams attended St. Edwards Catholic grade school, where a class debate got him involved in the campaign to elect Jimmy Carter at the age of 12. Four years later, he changed his support to Ronald Reagan. At 14, Craig worked for a music store selling guitars for the parents of Rick Nielsen of the rock band Cheap Trick. At 16, he bagged groceries at a union store where membership in the International Food and Commercial Workers Union was compulsory. At 18, he was a member of the Teamster’s Union, driving Mack dump trucks for his dad.

After high school, Craig attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Management and Information Systems in 1984. Graduating a semester early, he went to work for Arthur Anderson in downtown Chicago as a software developer/consultant. His first job at Anderson was to write code for the IRS communications systems in assembly language. By the end of the year, Craig was teaching assembly class for the project.

In 1985, Craig married his wife, Cindy. They soon left Chicago and moved back closer to home, where Craig worked for The Thermos Company developing and maintaining software in more than a dozen languages. In 1991, they moved to Manning, Iowa, to work for Garst Seed Company in the IT department. Over the next seven years, Craig took on roles in credit, collections, accounts receivable, accounts payable, site management, and IT responsibilities in both Coon Rapids and Slater, Iowa. Although they didn’t expect to stay long in Manning, it soon became home for them. Thirty-three years later, Craig and Cindy still reside in the same house.

In 1998, Craig went to work for Midwest Seed Genetics in Carroll as their operations manager responsible for IT, customer service, shipping, and supply management. In 2001, he became the director of operations for Channel Bio LLC. In 2004, he joined Stauffer Seed Company and later managed the sale of Renze Seed Company to Dow AgroSciences. Craig later left the seed industry and founded an independent consulting business.

In 2008, Craig was elected chair of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee. He later served as treasurer of the Republican Party of Iowa. Craig was elected to the Iowa Senate in November 2020 and assumed office on January 11, 2021. He served as vice chair of the Senate Government Oversight Committee. Due to Iowa’s redistricting, Craig opted not to run for re-election in 2022. In 2024, he ran for Iowa’s 11th District House seat and was elected on November 5th, 2024. Craig was named Vice Chair to the Local Government Committee.

Craig and Cindy have two married children, Steven and Stephanie, and six grandchildren. Craig’s journey from a hardworking family in Rockford to a respected politician in Iowa is a testament to his dedication and commitment to public service.