Cenk Uygur | |
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![]() Uygur in 2016 | |
Born | Cenk Kadir Uygur March 21, 1970 |
Education | University of Pennsylvania (BS) Columbia University (JD) |
Occupations |
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Political party | Democratic (since 2007) |
Other political affiliations | Independent (2000–2007) Republican (until 2000)[1] |
Spouse | Wendy Lang |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Hasan Piker (nephew) |
Cenk Kadir Uygur (/ˈdʒɛŋk kəˈdɪr ˈjuːɡər/; Turkish: [ˈdʒeɲc kaˈdiɾ ˈujɡuɾ]; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-born American[2] politician, political commentator, and media host. He is the co-creator of The Young Turks, a left-wing, progressive, sociopolitical news and commentary program.
In 1996, Uygur worked briefly as an associate attorney. He launched and began hosting The Young Turks in 2002. In 2011, he worked briefly for MSNBC as a political commentator (he was replaced by Al Sharpton), and then from 2011 to 2013 he appeared on a weeknight commentary show on Current TV. In 2017, Uygur co-founded the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats.
In 2020, Uygur was a candidate in both the special election as well as the regularly scheduled election for California's 25th congressional district. Some considered his candidacy controversial due to his past comments about women and minority groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, Asians, religious Jews and Muslims, which some found offensive but which he said were taken out of context.[3][4] He lost both elections, placing fourth overall and second among Democrats after receiving six and seven percent of the vote, respectively.[citation needed]
Uygur announced his candidacy in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries in October 2023, despite not being a natural-born U.S. citizen as required. He expected the courts to overturn the requirement in the event of his victory due to the Equal Protection clause, emulating an unsuccessful argument made by ineligible candidate Abdul Hassan in 2012.[5] Uygur withdrew from the race on March 6, 2024.[6]
Uygur isn't the first to make such a case. Abdul Karim Hassan, a naturalized US citizen from Guyana, filed several lawsuits ahead of the 2012 presidential election, including one against New Hampshire, unsuccessfully seeking ballot access on 14th Amendment and other grounds