In Kenya, Half Brother to Obama Runs for Governor

A politician named Obama who is running for governor in Kenya can boast of one big claim to fame on the campaign trail: blood relations with the president of the United States.

Malik Obama — a half-brother of Barack Obama — is running for a governor's position in the country's nationwide elections on Monday, though he said he's not sure what impact his relationship to the American president has on his campaign.

"I'm going into it as Malik Obama," he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from western Kenya. "I can't run away from my name and association with my brother, but I have the feeling that people somewhat want to see who the brother of Obama is."

The president's relative even invokes the message that Barack Obama leaned on during his groundbreaking 2008 political campaign: Change. Malik Obama says his platform is poverty eradication, infrastructure development and industrialization.

"I hope that you all out there will support me and vote for me for this important position so that we can bring change to the county of Siaya," Obama said at a recent campaign stop.

[link to abcnews.go.com]