You're About to Hear Keith Ellison's Name Everywhere — Here's What You Should Know About the Rising Politician

The Democratic National Committee needs a new leader, and many think Keith Ellison is the right person for the job. After a scandal rooted in hacked emails embroiled the DNC in August, chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned. Wasserman Schultz, who is a current member of the House from Florida, was replaced by an interim chair Donna Brazile. The political analyst and former CNN contributor faced her own email scandal in October when WikiLeaks revealed Brazile sent questions to the Hillary Clinton campaign ahead of a CNN town hall and debate.

Brazile will remain the DNC interim head for a few months until the committee meets to elect a new chair in 2017. Ellison is of the front runners who formally announced his candidacy on Monday. Ellison already has one title to his name: the first Muslim-American to be elected to Congress. Serving the fifth district of Minnesota since 2007, Ellison is a progressive, an environmental activist, believes in making college debt-free, and vocally opposes of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

While Senator Bernie Sanders and current Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid have endorsed Ellison's candidacy, critics claim Ellison would not be able to both hold the positionand his congressional seat. (Howard Dean, who is the former Vermont governor and who served as the DNC head from 2005 to 2009, also announced he's running for chairman again. Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, New Hampshire Chairman Ray Buckley, and South Carolina Chairman Jaime Harrison have expressed interest in the job, too, according to Politico.)

Ellison, seemingly unperturbed by his critics, told ABC News's George Stephanopoulos that his congressional position was irrelevant. "Well, you know, the most important criteria for a DNC chair is going to be vision," Ellison said. "This is not about one person; this is about millions of people all working together to protect and advance the interests of working Americans."