Political ripples are spreading after Congressman Keith Ellison announced he’s running for Minnesota attorney general, giving up almost certain re-election in the heavily-Democratic Fifth District (Minneapolis and near suburbs). Ellison says “I decided this morning that the right thing to do is not seek comfort and security… to get out there and fight for consumers, particularly in a national environment where people feel very vulnerable.” Ellison is challenging the DFL-endorsed candidate, Matt Pelikan, who Ellison says is “a great guy. I had a chance to talk to him and I admire him a lot, but I would have been in the endorsing contest myself if I had not heard directly from the attorney general that she was running for her office again.”
Lori Swanson decided to run for governor instead, after not receiving the DFL endorsement at the state convention in Rochester. That leaves the race for attorney general wide-open. Former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher has filed to run for Ellison’s seat in Congress, as has State Senator Patricia Torres Ray. There are rumors that State Representative Ilhan Omar might also jump into the race. She has national visibility as the first Somali-American state legislator in the U-S.