Turkish-American broadcaster Cenk Uygur to run for Congress

ISTANBUL

Cenk Uygur, the founder and host of progressive media company The Young Turks, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Congress elections in 2020.

Uygur, 49, who broadcasts to five million followers, announced his candidacy to replace Democratic Party Congresswoman Katie Hill, who resigned on Oct. 28 in California.

“I’m going to represent those people in a way they have not seen before. I will not be a standard politician. I will fight for them. I’m going to fight to get money of of politics, and I’m going to call it like it is,” Uygur said during a livestream of his show after he switched from co-hosting to being interviewed about his decision by his co-host, Ana Kasparian.

Uygur, who announced his candidacy from the 25th region, is known as “progressive” in U.S. politics.

After YouTube, Uygur started to present MSNBC news, and when he was asked to reduce his criticism of the Obama administration, he left his post.

“The Young Turks” host, also a frequent guest on CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” has surprised viewers in the past when it came to seemingly cut-and-dry partisan issues.

In 2018, Uygur said he disagreed with the advertiser boycott against Fox News host Tucker Carlson, stating that his fate should rest with viewers — not corporations.

Uygur emigrated to the United States from Istanbul, Turkey at the age of eight and graduated from Columbia University Law School.