Minn. AG-elect Ellison resigning as DNC deputy chair

St. Paul, Minn. – Minnesota Attorney General-elect Keith Ellison says he is resigning as deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Ellison told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday night that he’s notified DNC Chairman Tom Perez that he “will be retiring from that role to devote all my time to the people of the state of Minnesota.”

Ellison was elected Minnesota attorney general on Tuesday despite an ex-girlfriend’s accusation of domestic abuse, which Ellison has denied. Ellison defeated Republican Doug Wardlow for an office that had threatened to swing to Republicans for the first time in nearly half a century.

Ellison rose to national prominence as the first Muslim elected to Congress and last year became deputy chairman of the DNC.

Ellison, 55, was born and raised in Detroit. He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in 1981 and Wayne State University in 1986. His parents, brothers and nieces and nephews still live in Michigan.

Ellison moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he graduated in 1990. He practiced law for several years before his election to the Minnesota state House of Representatives in 2003. In 2006, Ellison became the first Muslim elected to Congress.

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