Democrats have elected their first Hispanic to chair their party, Obama’s Labor Secretary Tom Perez. This was a blow to the very liberal wing of the party who was lobbying for Keith Ellison. From the Washington Post,
“With hard work and a hell of a lot of organizing, we will turn this party around,” said Perez, his voice hoarse after a week that took him to 10 states, locking up the final votes he needed from the 447-member DNC.
“We’ve got to come out of here hand in hand, brothers and sisters, because Trump is right outside of that door,” said Ellison before the final vote, which came on a second ballot.
Perez wants to focus on support from small donors and online fundraising. His goal is:
“low-dollar contributions from everyday Americans [to] account for 33 percent of revenue.”
More on the story and the voting here and here.
UPDATE: Perez’s first motion as chair was to appoint Keith Ellison as Deputy Chair. That story here.
