Dem congressman’s dad is a Republican

Holidays might be just a smidge awkward in the Ellison household.

Rep. Keith Ellison, the Democrat from Minnesota, says his father just can’t see eye to eye with his political views.

Speaking on the House floor on Thursday, Ellison, 48, disclosed that his dad, Leonard, is a Republican — although, according to the congressman, “He hasn’t voted that way in a while.”

In any event, Ellison’s dear ol’ dad doesn’t seem to hold back in his criticism of his son’s party. Ellison, who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said his father had told him: “You liberals want to help everybody.”

But in his remarks, Ellison also explained that his dad, a psychiatrist, recalled a time to him when Congress wasn’t so fractured, and Republicans and Democrats found a way to work with each other. 

Jennifer Gore, a communications director for Ellison, tells ITK that the congressman “credits his parents’ healthy interest in the political movements of the 1960s for influencing many of his own views.”

She also says Ellison “enjoys a good relationship with his father.”

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