Ellison raises eyebrows in run for AG
Minn. congressman opts to quit, seek state office
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Rep. Keith Ellison asked himself the question that lingers over his political career before any of the 1,000-plus supporters at his recent rally could: Why was he leaving the safe congressional district he’s represented for more than a decade to run for state attorney general?
“Attorneys general all over this country led the fight against this Muslim ban,” he said to raucous applause. “It is attorneys general that are fighting and suing to protect an open internet.”
A year after falling short in his bid to chair the Democratic National Committee and with his party stuck in the minority, Ellison is angling for a change.
Democrats nationwide have increasingly looked to attorneys general in their states as a counter to President Donald Trump’s administration and its policies.
Ellison, who in 2006 became the first Muslim elected to Congress, said his quest isn’t personal. He has a lengthy priority list, including protecting President Barack Obama’s health care law and restoring socalled “net neutrality” provisions scrapped by the Federal Communications Commission under Trump.
“For me, it is a dramatic oversimplification to say that this is about Trump. It’s not,” he said. “But it is about policies that he’s pursuing that I think hurt consumers, hurt people’s rights.”
A 54-year-old with the campaign vigor of someone 30 years younger, Ellison has carved out a reputation as an energizing force in state and national politics.
Even before Ellison entered the race, there were signs of the new thirst among Minnesota Democrats for a more activist attorney general. Lori Swanson, the three-term Democratic incumbent, was humbled at a June endorsing convention by a little-known challenger who criticized her as too careful.
When she decided to run for governor, Ellison joined a stampede of five Democrats who filed to run for a seat that Republicans haven’t won in more than half a century.
Ellison is sure to face scrutiny in his first statewide bid, including renewed questions about his connections to Minister Louis Farrakhan, the head of Nation of Islam who has a history of anti-semitic comments.