Keith Ellison

“Our democracy is not something to be taken for granted. You have to fight for it. You have to commit yourself to working for it - for the long haul.”

“When I started running for Congress, it actually took me by surprise that so many people were fascinated with me being the first Muslim in Congress.”

“One of the things that will decline over time is the demand that the society or the government bring forth a particularized racial remedy based on a history of deprivation. That will be even more difficult to do in the future.”

“I've never gotten up in front of a Muslim congregation and played the role of a religious leader, and I decline those invitations because that's not what I am.”

“I study these bills. I read them carefully. If it makes sense, I'll sign on them. If not, I don't.”

“I have always been a fierce fighter against anti-Semitism. I oppose it and always have.”

“I think that whenever businesses harm the economy, harm workers, harm consumers, or undermine human rights in any way, then it is the role of the government to make sure that they don't do that and to make sure that markets are fair and they operate properly.”

“My faith and my identity as a Muslim - I never saw it as something that made my job harder. It's just an aspect of who I am.”

“I'm going to be fighting to rebuild the Democratic party no matter what. I'm going to be fighting to make sure the Democratic party is known among working people that we are their champion no matter what.”

“My mom, Clida, taught my four brothers and me about her father's work to organize black voters in rural Louisiana in the 1950s. We carried her dad's legacy of activism with us. The Civil Rights Movement was present in the daily life of my family in Detroit in the 1970s.”

“Those who seek the divine want to make this world a better place, which first requires that we communicate.”

“We need more leaders speaking up for minority groups who have been marginalized and attacked.”

“What is it to be white? It does mean something to be Norwegian. It means something to be Polish or German or Spanish. But 'white' is simply a catchall for 'light-skinned person.' It doesn't really mean anything.”

“All I'd like to say is that I am a patriotic, loyal American. I love my country and the values that it stands for. And I am a Muslim.”

“I'm not a scholar of Islamic history or jurisprudence or anything.”

“The real problem for Democrats is we've got to help people believe, and then we've got to deliver the message to them. Believe what? That we are absolutely, unshakeably on their side, and we're going to fight for them every single minute.”

“When I hear about these terrorist ideologies, they are completely foreign and strange to me. I mean, to me, it's, like, antithetical.”

“Faith really should be a bridge, not a wall. Because at the end of the day, we should be focusing on what you believe, not what your religion is.”

“We must invest in and empower our state and local parties by creating effective field operations, an enhanced and advanced voter file, and a culture of collaboration between candidates at every level. Let's put the voters first.”

“Republicans profess to be against deficits, but they are experts at creating and exacerbating deficits.”