Former President Barack Obama has released a second round of midterm endorsements, and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who is now running to be Minnesota’s next Attorney General, isn’t on the list.
Notable absence from @BarackObama’s new round of endorsements: Keith Ellison for attorney general in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/ffg0AQL6Zw
— Kevin Robillard (@Robillard) October 1, 2018
This might not be a surprise for Ellison, who sharply criticized Obama in the wake of the Democrats’ stunning 2016 Presidential election loss. Ellison, who had just lost the race to chair the Democratic National Committee to Tom Perez, chastised Obama for failing to lead and unite the Democratic Party and warned that the former President should not abandon his colleagues to focus on building his post-presidential career.
But Obama’s failure to endorse Ellison may speak to the current political landscape — and the former president’s understandable hesitation in the midst of controversy surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to openly endorse a candidate “credibly accused” of domestic abuse.
Eliison was accused in August of beating up a former romantic partner, and while Democrats have focused intently on allegations of sexual assault leveled at Kavanaugh, they’ve ignored allegations against Ellison almost completely. Over the weekend, Ellison told Buzzfeed that he plans to ask the House Ethics Committee for an investigation but seems to be ducking the standard his Democratic colleagues have applied to Kavanaugh; neither Ellison nor his colleagues have requested a law enforcement investigation.
On Monday, a GOP Senate candidate in Minnesota called on the state to investigate the allegations against Ellison.
Barack Obama probably doesn’t want to involve himself in the fray.