Ellison, who represents Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, is reportedly running to become the Democratic National Committee Chair. If he wins, he’d replace interim chair Donna Brazile, who replaced Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz earlier this year.
And he’s got an early boost: America’s cuddliest (democratic) socialist, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, endorsed him today:
Bernie Sanders backs Keith Ellison, one of his early congressional backers, for DNC chair https://t.co/JzcMxncM1q pic.twitter.com/TT7lyZrOUl
— Andrew Desiderio (@desiderioDC) November 10, 2016
Ellison endorsed Sanders’s White House bid, and the two men share a left-wing populist ethos somewhat at odds with the DNC’s current leadership. Elections won’t be held until March 2017, but there are some early signs that DNC staffers would welcome a departure from the moderate politics espoused by Brazile and other Clinton allies in the party.
According to the Huffington Post, an all-staff meeting erupted today when a DNC staffer interrupted Brazile to blame her and Wasserman Schultz for the party’s crushing electoral defeats. And he’s not alone in his sentiments:
“The party is at a crossroads. They have been using the same playbook for decades, and now, they won’t let anyone else come in and change it up,” said one former longtime DNC staffer, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “The fact that Democrats just sat through a devastating defeat and now have to trust the leadership that not only contributed to Clinton’s loss, but the crushing 2014 midterm losses, well, what do they expect?”
Maybe Ellison is exactly what the party needs.