(The Hill) -- The race for chair of the Democratic National Committee is an important one. This is especially so when Democrats are the party in opposition to a Republican president, and especially when that president is Donald Trump, and thus there may need to be an almost daily public response or rebuttal from an effective national Democratic Party leader. The DNC chair will usually be one of the media’s first go-to Democratic leaders to challenge President Trump — especially the all-important Sunday morning interview shows that can dominate headlines for the rest of the week.
So, when I saw that Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison had been endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and most of the major leaders of organized labor, I decided to take a closer look at his candidacy for chair of the DNC. I knew he had supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primaries over my preferred candidate and friend, Hillary Clinton. I also knew he worked hard for Hillary, along with Sanders, in the general election throughout the country.
So, I took the time to study his positions on the issues and talked to him on the phone for some time over Christmas break 2016. I liked what I saw and heard.
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