[T]he Minnesota congressman whom Sen. Bernie Sanders favored to be the chair of the Democratic National Committee is coming to Vermont.
Rep. Keith Ellison, who became deputy national committee chair after losing his bid for the top spot early this year, will be speaking at a Vermont Democratic Party fundraising event Nov. 9.
Vermont Democratic Party Chair Faisal Gill invited Ellison, whose campaign Gill worked on 10 years ago when Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress. Gill is the first Muslim to be selected as a state party chair.
“He’s saying the right things. He has the right vision for the Democratic Party,” Gill said. “I’m just a huge fan of Keith Ellison.” Ellison endorsed Gill in his unsuccessful 2016 bid for a Vermont Senate seat from Chittenden County.
In the fight for national chair, Sanders backed Ellison in what was seen as a battle for the future direction of the party after the presidential election defeat of Hillary Clinton by Republican Donald Trump. In February, Ellison was defeated by former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who moved to make Ellison his deputy moments after winning the top post.
Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., are scheduled to attend the event in Burlington.
Welch entered Congress the same year as Ellison.
“Keith is a principled progressive who has earned enormous respect in Congress and across the country,” Welch said. “He is passionate, energetic, politically savvy, and a fierce advocate for working families. Above all he is a good man who I am fortunate to call my friend.”
