Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the progressive congressman and deputy chair of the DNC, is exploring a run for Minnesota attorney general, Politico reports.
“Lori Swanson, the current attorney general, is expected to run for governor, leaving the race open. With his active organizing and fundraising base — amplified through his close alliance with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — Ellison would likely scramble a field of lesser known candidates that’s begun to take shape.”
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) will not run in Minnesota’s special U.S. Senate election in 2018, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“It remains to be seen if Tina Smith’s entry in the ‘18 race will clear the Democratic field in the race to replace Sen. Al Franken, who is resigning soon.”
This piece is only available to Political Wire members.
Join today for exclusive analysis, new features and no advertising.
Sign in to your account or join today! Monthly – $5 per month or Annual – $50 per year
First Read: “As DNC members travel to Atlanta to choose the party’s next chair on Saturday, there’s an elephant in the room that no one is talking about it — but that everyone is thinking about: Keith Ellison’s Muslim faith.”
“Don’t get us wrong, this isn’t an issue among the 447 DNC members. As we’ve written, many/most voting members would be happy with either Ellison or Tom Perez. But some outside the party seem to be goading Democrats to pick Ellison, as David Duke did earlier this month.”
“As Democrats head to Atlanta this weekend to vote on their party’s next chair, the race to lead the Democratic National Committee chair is coming down to its two leading candidates,” The Hill reports.
“Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) has the edge over former Labor secretary Tom Perez in The Hill’s new survey of DNC members. But while both men claim they are close to securing commitments from the majority of the 447 voting members, neither candidate is assured victory.”
President Trump on Twitter: “One thing I will say about Rep. Keith Ellison, in his fight to lead the DNC, is that he was the one who predicted early that I would win!”
Politico: Howard Dean endorses Pete Buttigieg for DNC chairman.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he will vacate his Congressional seat if he wins the chairman job at the Democratic National Committee.
“Ellison conceded Wednesday that a full-time chair is what the party wanted after the losses of the 2016 presidential and Congressional elections. He said he came to the decision after difficult soul-searching and hearing from the more than 400 voting members of the DNC who said they wouldn’t vote him as long as he was a sitting member of Congress.”
New York Times: “As the gathering began, Howard Dean, a former committee chairman who had been Mr. Ellison’s most prominent rival, announced that he was withdrawing his bid. But before making that announcement via video recording, Mr. Dean argued that the committee must be “rebuilt from the ground up” and that only a full-time chairman could accomplish that task.”
“More than two hours later, as the forum came to a close, Mr. Ellison offered an unexpected response. He revealed that he was considering resigning his seat in Congress, in answer to those on the committee who want the next chairman to focus exclusively on remaking a party shut out of power in Washington and many state capitals.”
First Read: “At 3:00 pm ET, four candidates to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee (Ray Buckley, Howard Dean, Keith Ellison, and Jamie Harrison) will speak at a forum in Denver, CO. But there’s now trouble for the early frontrunner for this job — Ellison, the Democratic congressman from Minnesota. The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday issued a scathing statement that Ellison’s remarks reportedly criticizing Israel in a 2010 speech were ‘disturbing and disqualifying.'”
Here’s the audio of Ellison’s remarks in 2010: “The United States foreign policy in the Middle East is governed by what is good or bad through a country of 7 million people. A region of 350 million all turns on a country of 7 million. Does that make sense? Is that logic? Right? When the Americans who trace their roots back to those 350 million get involved, everything changes. Can I say that again?”
“These are things that don’t happen when parties are healthy and when movements are healthy. But the left is in the process right now of sort of spinning out of control and getting goofier and goofier.”
— Newt Gingrich, quoted by Politico, on Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-MN) bid to chair the Democratic National Committee.
Playbook: “Soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is backing Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison to be the next head of the Democratic National Committee, a big boost for the Minnesota Democrat as the party searches for a new leader. Schumer spoke with Ellison Thursday afternoon and ‘supports him for chair,’ according to a source close to Schumer, who added: ‘Without a Democratic White House, Schumer’s view is the DNC is where grassroots organizing in sync with leg battles should be organized.’
“Schumer’s nod comes as others like former DNC Chair Howard Dean have launched their own campaigns to run the embattled organization. Ellison, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, hasn’t officially thrown his hat in the ring, though he has said he’ll make an announcement on Monday.”
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Ellison released a statement saying he’s backing Sanders because Sanders has “demonstrated a willingness to push for progressive ideas that will help American families and restore balance” to the nation’s economy.