(ABC 6 News) — Minnesota U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has been elected by the Democratic Caucus to serve as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture.

Following the election, Craig released the following statement:

I am honored to have earned the support of my colleagues across the Democratic Caucus for Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture for the 119th Congress.

I just won my D+1 district by nearly 14 points because my farmers and rural constituents know that I’ll meet them where they’re at, I’ll listen to their concerns and I’ll work with whoever I can to improve their lives.

I look forward to leading my Democratic colleagues in the spirit of Minnesota’s Second District: that means not defaulting to the status quo of Washington, DC. It means working to find compromise where we can, but fighting for our values where we must.

My focus will be on improving people’s lives – not scoring political points. We can lower food and energy costs for consumers. We can strengthen the farm safety net and open the doors of opportunity to new and beginning farmers. And we can ensure that nutrition assistance programs are available for the Americans who need them.

As the granddaughter of an Arkansas farm foreman, as someone who grew up relying on nutrition assistance – someone who knows firsthand how critical good ag policy is – I could not be more proud to lead our Caucus as Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee.