Keith Ellison
 Keith Ellison      (politician) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Keith Maurice Ellison 1963-08-04 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Wayne State University, BA, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, JD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Kim Ellison | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of | Council on Foreign Relations/Members | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interests | “Islamophobia” | ||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||||
American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota. He was the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress.
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Keith Ellison is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota.
A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. Representative. He was the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress.
He also served as the titular Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018.
In Congress, Ellison was a vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Chief Deputy Whip. He also sat on the House Committee on Financial Services.
Ellison's profile was raised when he joined the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee in November 2016, gaining support from progressive groups and U.S. senators Bernie Sanders (of Vermont) and Chuck Schumer (of New York). His candidacy prompted renewed scrutiny of past statements and his affiliation with the Nation of Islam, which drew criticism from some other Democrats. Ellison was defeated by former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, who subsequently appointed Ellison Deputy Chair, a decision approved by unanimous voice vote of DNC members.[1]
On June 5, 2018, Ellison announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress, and seek the office of Minnesota Attorney General.[2][3] Ellison won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Doug Wardlow in the general election, becoming the first African American elected to partisan statewide office in Minnesota, as well as the first Muslim in the U.S. to win statewide office.
