Cenk Uygur

Cenk Kadir Uygur (Turkish: [ˈdʒeɲc kaˈdiɾ ˈujɡuɾ]) is a Turkish-born American political commentator, media host, and attorney. 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, religious Jews, and Muslims, which some found offensive but which he said were taken out of context. He lost both elections, placing fourth overall and second among Democrats after receiving six and seven percent of the vote, respectively. 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. Uygur withdrew from the race on March 6, 2024.