MINNEAPOLIS – Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) says former President Barack Obama is to blame for the Democrat’s widespread losses in November.
In an event at the University of Minnesota focusing on the future of the Democratic party, Ellison was asked if Obama was responsible for some of the November election losses. Ellison did not hesitate to put a big chunk of the blame on Obama.
“Look, I’m a great fan of President Obama. I totally voted for many things he supported,” Ellison said. “But Barack Obama could have been a better party leader. And I think the fact that he wasn’t, has put his legacy in jeopardy.”
Ellison went on to say that Obama’s legacy is not going to preserved in his presidential library, but is in all the “tremendous” work he has done.
“His true legacy is in danger, and I think he can’t say that he wasn’t a part of those losses,” Ellison said. “I mean, who else?”
Ellison, who is Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee, acknowledged the Democrats did not just lose the presidency, but also many state house seats and governorships. Since Obama took office in 2009, the Democrats have lost 1,042 state and federal Democratic seats including congressional and state legislative seats, governorships and the presidency.
In Minnesota, Republicans took the state Senate and expanded their house majority.
Watch a clip of the event at University of Minnesota below:
