Congressman Keith Ellison Considering Running For DNC Chair

Well, the post-election intrigue has started in the Democratic Party after a devastating election day in which Republicans took the presidency and held on to both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. After the horrible handling of the debates and the email leaks under Debbie Wasserman Shultz and the sad revelations about Donna Brazile leaking debate questions to Hillary Clinton, several Democrats are discussing vying to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. One of those people is Minnesota Congressman and hardcore progressive Keith Ellison.

Rep. Keith Ellison, a leading progressive voice in Congress and one of only two Muslim Americans in the House of Representatives, has his eyes on becoming the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The Minnesota Democrat has been planning a run for weeks, and has begun informally talking to other party lawmakers and insiders about his prospects for the post, several sources have told The Huffington Post.

His name was floated as a possible DNC chair by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday morning, giving him the type of institutional progressive support that would make his candidacy formidable. MoveOn.org, a major progressive network, also said in a statement that Ellison would be “an excellent DNC chair.”

Ellison’s identity as a black man and the first Muslim member of Congress would serve as a symbolic rebuke to President-elect Donald Trump. And his ties to Sanders would give him credibility in the progressive community that feels the party has catered too much to elite interests. He is also regarded as a savvy television presence ― which seems likely to be a major requirement for the job in the age when Democrats are out of power in every branch of government.

Read more: Congressman Keith Ellison Wants To Run The DNC

NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Baltimore, MD – NAACP National President and CEO Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement regarding the results of the 2016 presidential election:

 

“Even as we extend our congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump, the NAACP, as America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, must bluntly note that the 2016 campaign has regularized racism, standardized anti-Semitism, de-exceptionalized xenophobia and mainstreamed misogyny. Voter suppression, as the courts have declared, has too become rampant and routine.

From the day that General George Washington accepted the people’s charge to become their first commander-in-chief, to the day that we elected Barack Obama as our country’s first African-American president, America has come together to ensure a peaceful transition of power. This most recent presidential election must meet this distinctly American standard. President-Elect Trump’s victory speech avoided a divisive tone and thus invoked this standard.

 

During this critical period of transition, we are now calling upon the next president to speak and act with the moral clarity necessary to silence the dog-whistle racial politics that have characterized recent months and have left many of our fellow citizens snarling at one another in anger and even whimpering in fear. The more than 120 million Americans who cast ballots in this election – as well as the more than 100 million more eligible voters who declined to vote – deserve no less.

The NAACP stands ready to work with a new administration to realize the racial justice concerns that not only compelled millions of people to go to the polls on Election Day but also inspired millions to protest in the streets in the preceding days and months. Depending upon the new administration’s fidelity to America’s ideals of liberty and the NAACP’s agenda for justice, we will either be at its side or in its face. We will not let this election distract or dissuade us; the NAACP will continue to stand strong at the frontlines, advocating for voting rights, criminal justice reform and equality for all.   

This election comes as a surprise to many, an affirmation to some and a rejection to others, and yet it is also a defining moment for the NAACP and the nation. Let us come together as a country – come together with the principled and practical unity that the needs of our nation and the need to govern demand.

 

Our beauty as a country shines brighter than the ugliness of this election. It is up to all of us to reveal the beauty of who we are as a people as we yet see the possibilities of the nation we can become. 

 

Tim Scott re-elected to the U.S. Senate

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (Republican, South Carolina)) has been re-elected to the U.S. Senate by the voters of South Carolina. Senator Scott defeated Thomas Dixon and two other with Democrats with 60.5% of the vote. This will be Scott first full term as a senator.

ELECTION RESULTS:

CANDIDATE PARTY VOTES PCT.

Tim Scott* Republican 1,228,844 60.5%

Thomas Dixon Democrat 752,001 37.0

Bill Bledsoe Constitution 37,124 1.8

Rebel Michael Scarborough American Party 11,861 0.6

Donald Payne Jr. Re-elected to Congress

New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne Jr. (DEM) has been re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for a third term as the Representative of New Jersey's 10th Congressional District. Payne demolished his Republican challenger David Pinckney and three others with over 86% of the vote making his margin of victory the largest in the state of N.J. Congrats to Congressman Payne.

ELECTION RESULTS:

Payne Jr., Donald Dem 179,082 86%

Pinckney, David GOP 24,628 12%

Miller, Joanne Ind 3,406 2%

Fraser, Aaron Ind 1,609 1%

Bonnie Watson Coleman re-elected to congress

New Jersey Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (Dem) won re-election to her congressional seat representing N.J. 12th District for a second term. She handily defeated Republican Steven Uccio and 5 other challenger withe over 63% of the vote.

ELECTION RESULTS:

Watson Coleman, Bonnie (i) Dem 160,851 63%

Uccio, Steven GOP 83,049 32%

Forchion, Edward Ind 5,420 2%

Shapiro, Robert Ind 2,496 1%

Fitzpatrick, Thomas Lib 2,202 1%

Welzer, Steven Grn 1,854 1%

Bollentin, Michael Ind 1,148 0%