He ran unsuccessfully for Congress back in the 1980's, no?
Unfortunately, Mr. Crean did indeed run for the 43rd Congressional district in 1982. I say "unfortunately" because this was a blemish on Mr. Crean's career. When the House seat was created, it drew a whopping 18 entrants on the GOP side, and it was a very nasty campaign. Crean dumped a half-million dollars into the primary race (a huge sum in those days), falsely claiming he was Pres. Reagan's choice for the seat and falsely accusing other candidates of voter fraud (Michael Barone had described the feelings towards Crean as "despicable"). He won by all of 92 votes over 2nd place finisher Ron Packard. Because nearly 83% of the primary voters had preferred anyone other than Crean, Packard decided to run a write-in campaign (and had covert support of the party, though they had to publicly stick with Crean). In an upset, Packard won the general election with 37% and Crean came in last behind the Democrat with just 31% (even though he outspent Packard by 3-to-1).
In any event, one hopes his other life accomplishments outweighed his ill-advised foray into politics. May he rest in peace. Prayers for his family.