Politics

Keith Ellison Wins Democratic MN Attorney General Primary Amid Abuse Allegations

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. By Lorie Shaull - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53086405

Keith Ellison won the Minnesota Democratic primary election for attorney general Tuesday evening following allegations he violently abused his ex-girlfriend.

Ellison blew out the Democratic runner up Debra Hilstrom with more than 53 percent of the vote at the time the race was called with about 30 percent of the precincts reporting. He beat her at the time of publication by almost 100,000 votes.

Ellison raised over $212,000 — more than $128,000 than the closest Democratic opponent, Mike Rothman, who raised only $84,200, MinnPost reported.

Ellison faced accusations, which he denied, that he abused his ex-girlfriend, Sierra Club activist Karen Monahan. In a Facebook post Saturday, Monahan’s son, Austin Aslim Monahan, detailed graphic scenes of Ellison attacking Karen.

“My brother and I watched our mom come out of pure hell after getting out of her relationship with Keith Ellison,” Austin wrote.

He added: “In the middle of 2017, I was using my moms computer trying to download something and I clicked on a file, I found over 100 text and twitters messages and video almost 2 min long that showed Keith Ellison dragging my mama off the bed by her feet, screaming and calling her a ‘fucking bitch’ and telling her to get the fuck out of his house.”

In a statement to National Public Radio, the Democratic National Committee finally announced just hours before the polls closed that it is investigating the domestic abuse claims, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

“These allegations recently came to light and we are reviewing them. All allegations of domestic abuse are disturbing and should be taken seriously,” the DNC said after remaining silent about Ellison’s accusations.

Hilstrom is a current member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She has served in the State House, representing district 40B since 2000.

Current Attorney General Lori Swanson, a Democrat, decided not to run for re-election, opting instead to run for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Ellison is expected to defeat his Republican opponent on Nov. 6 since the Minnesota attorney general has been a Democrat since 1955, with the exception of one term from 1967 to 1971.

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