Rep. Keith EllisonKeith Maurice EllisonThe Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says country needs to rethink what ‘policing’ means; US cases surpass 2 million with no end to pandemic in sight Officer charged in Floyd’s death considered guilty plea before talks fell apart: report Minnesota AG Keith Ellison says racism is a bigger problem than police behavior; 21 states see uptick in cases amid efforts to reopen MORE (D-Minn.), the second in command at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), is strongly leaning toward a run to become Minnesota’s next attorney general, according to a source with knowledge of Ellison’s thinking.
“There is no confirmation tonight,” the source Monday, “[but] he is seriously considering it.”
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The filing deadline for the position is Tuesday, so the forthcoming announcement — if it happens — would come Tuesday morning, said the source.
Ellison was tapped as deputy chair of the DNC early last year, after losing a tight contest for the chairmanship to Tom PerezThomas Edward PerezClinton’s top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labor’s ‘wasteful spending and mismanagement” at Workers’ Comp MORE, former Labor secretary under former President Obama.
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The two had appeared to mend fences and form a united front as Democrats fight to recover from a disastrous 2016 cycle with this year’s midterms.
But the same internal fissures that dogged Democrats two years ago have crept into the current cycle, with liberal stalwarts like Ellison — who had backed Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I-Vt.) in the 2016 presidential primary — at odds with more establishment figures in the leadership ranks.
Those tensions were on display last month when Perez, after vowing not to intervene in primary contests, endorsed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who’s facing a challenge from the left from actress Cynthia Nixon. The move reportedly incensed Ellison, a former head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and one of the most liberal lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Republicans were quick to pounce, hoping to widen the divide between the Democrats.
“Without Ellison, will progressive activists and Bernie Sanders supporters feel they’ve lost a seat at the table and cause even more headaches for Perez and the party establishment?” Michael Ahrens, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, asked in an email blast Monday night.
A decision to jump into the Minnesota attorney general contest would open up the House seat Ellison has held for the last six terms.
Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress in the country’s history.