14 Facts About Ellen Craswell

Ellen Craswell was an American politician who was a candidate in the 1996 Washington gubernatorial election.

Ellen Craswell ran as a Republican but grew disillusioned with the party and later joined the American Heritage Party, the Washington State affiliate of the Constitution Party.

Ellen Craswell resided in Poulsbo, Washington with her husband and fellow politician, Bruce Craswell.

Ellen Craswell's father died when she was nine years old, and her mother raised the family.

Ellen Craswell was elected to Washington's 23rd Legislative District in 1976.

Ellen Craswell won landslides in both 1978 and 1980, when she became a member of the Washington State Senate.

Ellen Craswell narrowly won re-election after a recount in 1988 and was defeated by Democrat Betti Sheldon in 1992.

Ellen Craswell was very open about her religious identity, prompting concern among some in the Republican Party that she would have difficulty in moderately liberal Washington.

Ellen Craswell campaigned both on fiscal issues and as an unabashed conservative Christian.

Ellen Craswell gained media coverage for comments, including those where she described herself as a "radical," declared that she would hire only "wise and godly people" as staffers, and listed God at the top of her campaign organization chart.

Education became an important issue during the campaign, with Ellen Craswell supporting heavy localization and a tuition-based system for all schools, and Democratic opponent Gary Locke supporting a more state-centric system.

Ellen Craswell ran a grassroots campaign, receiving campaign contributions from only individuals and advertising only on billboards and yard signs and at campaign events.

Ellen Craswell lived with her family in the Poulsbo, Washington area, until her death on April 5,2008.

Ellen Craswell had been diagnosed with cancer twice before but succumbed to her third bout with the disease.