Keith Ellison won the Minnesota Fifth Congressional District Democratic primary.  It's basically Minneapolis and the inner ring suburbs.  The seat was was held by Representative Martin Olav Sabo  for the last 13 terms.  Sabo made a surprise retirement announcement in March.  Keith Ellison won the Democratic endorsement and the primary so he is the democratic candidate in the November elections.
 
John Kerry received 70% of the vote in the Fifth congressional district.  It is one of the "most blue" district in the US.   Ellison is black but unlike other districts with black congressional candidates I'd guess the fifth district to be at least 75% white.
 
During the campaign Ellison had his license suspended for failing to pay at least fifty parking and speeding tickets.  (that's at least $3,000 in late fees).  Ellison has had at least one previous license suspension.  Ellison also has the worst political reporting record in the state when he was in the Minnesota State Legislature.  The IRS at least put a lien on his house
 
When attending Wayne State University in Ellison's native Detroit he converted to Islam.  Apparently it was with the Nation of Islam.  He came to Minneapolis to attend the U of MN law school.  As "Keith Akem"  he wrote an opinion piece advocating the US being divided into two separate nations with the deep south the black nation. 
 
Ellison also has a hearing in late October concerning a restraining order by his alleged mistress  
 
My connection with this is that I run the only web site regularly updating news on the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLAhttp://soliah.com I started the web site after the June 1999 arrest here in Minnesota of SLA fugitve Kathllen Ann Soliah/Sara Jane Olson. (Soliah/Olson)  Keith Ellison gave a speech where he gave apparent greeting from the Nation of Islam at a February 2000 at a Soliah/Olson fundraiser.  I dug this speech up at http://archive.org
 
If interested in the story for starters I have put together a web page http://presslord.com/speech.htm
 
There is at least an even chance of Ellison winning a seat in the US House of Representatives as the first Muslim ever in congress.  If my page link doesn't work just type in "presslord.com".  It redirects to my http://soliah.com  The link is right on the top.
 
The "plum" if you can locate it is an old picture of Ellison on a stage in full Nation of Islam dress flanked by the really big NOI "bodyguard" types.

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Last updated September 28, 2006