Young Turks Founder Cenk Uygur Announces Congressional Bid
The long-time progressive pundit hopes to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Katie Hill, pledging to "fight to get money out of politics."
Cenk Uygur, host and founder of the online progressive news show The Young Turks, announced late Thursday that he is running for the California congressional seat left vacant by the recent resignation of Rep. Katie Hill.
“I’m going to represent those people in a way that they have not seen before. I will not be a standard politician. I will fight for them,” Uygur said in his announcement Thursday. “I’m going to fight to get money out of politics, and I’m going to call it like it is.”
“You know what campaign donations are from big corporations and lobbyists? Bribes,” Uygur added. “They’re bribes when Republicans take them, they’re also bribes when Democrats take them. I’m not going to take any of that, and I’m going to fight to get you guys higher wages and to get you healthcare that your family needs.”
Watch:
BREAKING: @cenkuygur confirms he’s running for Congress in CA-25 pic.twitter.com/xXKpO7f8mC
— jordan (@JordanUhl) November 15, 2019
Uygur briefly worked as anchor for MSNBC in 2011 before leaving the network over its refusal to “challenge power.” He went on to co-found the progressive organization Justice Democrats, which works to replace centrist congressional Democrats with bold progressives.
In an indication of the strength of his digital media platform, Uygur announced Thursday that he raised over $100,000 from an average donation of $28 within three hours of launching his campaign.
“We have ridiculously low wages and a horrible healthcare system because politicians took money from those industries to sell you out,” Uygur told Politico. “It’s time people had a Representative who actually represented them rather than the greedy, corrupt donor class.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) Thursday night became the first member of Congress to endorse Uygur’s candidacy.
“Congress needs bold progressives,” Khanna said.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.