Comeback kid!
Damion Crawford returns to the House after nearly a decade
Published:Thursday | September 4, 2025 | 12:13 AMKimone Francis/Staff Reporter
Thirteen years and eight months after he was first elected to the House of Representatives, fiery dreadlocked politician Damion Crawford is making a return to the legislature, this time as as the member of parliament for St Catherine North Western.
Crawford, the People’s National Party (PNP) spokesman on education, turned back a spirited challenge from the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Newton Amos. Preliminary results show the Kingston College old boy polling 7,580 votes to Amos’ 4,855.
“I am excited going back to Parliament with the feeling that we have an awesome duty of proving the people right for the trust they have exhibited in me,” he said.
Crawford made his first entry in Gordon House, in December 2011 when he defeated the JLP’s Joan Gordon Webley by 259 votes to win St Andrew East Rural. He lasted only one term PNP delegates voted to have him replaced on the ballot for the February 2016 general election.
Three years later, Crawford, widely viewed as a possible leader of the PNP, suffered a pain-staking loss in the 2019 by-election at the hands of the JLP’s Ann-Marie Vaz. The by-election was triggered by the murder of sitting MP and PNP representative, Dr Lynvale Bloomfield. Vaz won the election with 9,989 votes to Crawford’s 9,670.
Crawford told The Gleaner that his parliamentary contests have been highly competitive, and despite losing in Portland East, he was not disgraced.
“When I entered St Andrew East Rural, we were seven percentage points behind. We ended up being victorious. When we entered East Portland we were 11 percentage points behind; we ended up losing by one per cent. Both times we were able to get the most votes that the PNP has ever got until this day,” said Crawford.
The popular PNP member, who served as senator between 2016 and 2025, believes yesterday’s win makes him the ultimate comeback kid, but was specific that the title only applied to his return to George William Gordon House’s lower chambers.
“Now that we’re back in the Lower House, yes, I would consider myself a comeback kid to the Lower House and I remain grateful to North West St Catherine and will exhibit in my effort that level of gratitude,” Crawford said.
St Catherine North Western has been in the PNP’s column since 1989, but the party’s dominance has waned overtime. Hugh Graham, who Crawford succeeded as PNP standard-bearer in the constituency, won the constituency by a mere 148 votes in 2020 after polling 5,371 votes.