Cenk Uygur, the founder of The Young Turks, announced Thursday that he is running for Congress. (Image: Cenk Uygur)
Nov 14, 2019
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.
"We have ridiculously low wages and a horrible healthcare system because politicians took money from those industries to sell you out."
--Cenk Uygur
"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:
\u201cBREAKING: @cenkuygur confirms he's running for Congress in CA-25\u201d— jordan (@jordan) 1573780181
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 toldPolitico. "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.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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.
"We have ridiculously low wages and a horrible healthcare system because politicians took money from those industries to sell you out."
--Cenk Uygur
"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:
\u201cBREAKING: @cenkuygur confirms he's running for Congress in CA-25\u201d— jordan (@jordan) 1573780181
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 toldPolitico. "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.
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.
"We have ridiculously low wages and a horrible healthcare system because politicians took money from those industries to sell you out."
--Cenk Uygur
"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:
\u201cBREAKING: @cenkuygur confirms he's running for Congress in CA-25\u201d— jordan (@jordan) 1573780181
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 toldPolitico. "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.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.