US Democrats pick Perez to lead party

Promised to lead fight against Trump, make DNC more grass roots

US Democrats elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as chairman on Saturday, choosing a veteran of the Obama administration to lead the daunting task of rebuilding the party and heading the opposition to Republican President Donald Trump.

Members of the Democratic National Committee, the administrative and fundraising arm of the party, picked Perez on the second round of voting over US Representative Keith Ellison, a liberal from Minnesota.

Following one of the most crowded and competitive party leadership elections in decades, Perez faces a challenge in unifying and rejuvenating a party still reeling from the November 8 loss of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He immediately made Ellison his deputy.

After losing the presidency and failing to recapture majorities in Congress, party leaders are anxious to channel the growing grass- roots resistance to Trump into political support for Democrats at all levels of government.

“We are suffering from a crisis of confidence, a crisis of relevance,” Perez, a favorite of former Obama administration officials, told DNC members. He promised to lead the fight against Trump and change the DNC’s culture to make it a more grass- roots operation.

Perez, the son of Dominican immigrants who was considered a potential running mate for Clinton, overcame a strong challenge from Ellison and prevailed on a 235- 200 second- round vote. Ellison, who is the first Muslim elected to Congress, was backed by liberal leader Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The showdown between candidates backed by the establishment and progressive wings of the party echoed the bitter 2016 primary between Clinton and Sanders, a rift Democrats will try to put behind them. Those divisions per- sisted through the months- long race for chair, as many in the party’s liberal wing were suspicious of Perez’s ties to the establishment.

Some Ellison supporters chanted “Not big money, party for the people” after the result was announced. But both Perez and Ellison moved quickly to bring the rival factions together.

“I am asking you to give everything you’ve got to support Chairman Perez,” Ellison told DNC members after the vote. “We don’t have the luxury, folks, to walk out of this room divided.”