Keith Ellison officially announces he's running for DNC chair

On Monday afternoon, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) officially threw his hat in the ring to be the next Democratic National Committee chairman. "I am proud to announce my candidacy for chair of the Democratic National Committee, and if given the opportunity to serve, I will work tirelessly to make the Democratic Party an organization that brings us together and advances an agenda that improves people's lives," Ellison said in a statement.

Ellison already has the support of Democratic Party heavyweights like Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). However, critics of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the former DNC chair who resigned ahead of the Democratic National Convention, maintain the next chair should not hold a political office while in this role.

Former DNC chair and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has already announced he will be running again for the position he held between 2005 and 2009. Several others, including former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), and New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman and DNC vice chair Raymond Buckley, are reportedly contemplating a run.

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