Rep. Keith Ellison, who is running to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, declined comment Monday over whether he would resign his congressional seat to take the post.
"I think that's a fair conversation," the Minnesota Democrat told Bloomberg Politics co-managing editor Mark Halperin during a discussion on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "I think it's too early to have that [conversation]."
His competitor for the spot, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, has insisted he would be the best to take the helm of the committee, as he would treat it as a full-time job. However, Ellison has the backing of many of the party's top leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Ellison also avoided a similar question later in the morning from CNN's "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo, agreeing the spot is a full-time job, but still saying that did not mean he could not do it, as he said he is a "very hard-working person."
"We need to turn out the vote," he told Cuomo while touting himself for the position. "I'm actually pretty good at it. In my state of Minnesota, my congressional district used to have the lowest turnout in any congressional district. Now it has the highest, and we've been consistent on that.
"I believe that by getting out the vote, in say Milwaukee, Detroit, Flint, and in the suburbs of Philadelphia, we could have changed this whole election."
Ellison also told MSNBC on Monday that President-elect Donald Trump's supporters are already disappointed by him.
"There's already headlines out there how more lobbyists, more big-time bankers coming in," Ellison said. "That's the problem. These folks were made promises that are already not being kept. I think they deserve to have those promises kept."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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