Former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, newly elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Sunday that a united party will be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.
Perez spoke on three political talk shows a day after he was a elected to lead a party struggling for direction and riven by internal conflicts after Hillary Clinton’s upset loss to the billionaire real estate developer in November. He vowed to “lead with our values” to reconnect with voters who fled the party after feeling overlooked.
The first Latino to head the Democratic Party, Perez nonetheless represents continuity for the party establishment after serving as labor secretary and assistant attorney general for civil rights in President Barack Obama’s administration.
His first action as chairman was to name his rival for the top DNC role, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, as deputy chair; Ellison responded by urging his supporters to work with Perez.
“Congressman Ellison and I are united, and our Democratic unity is Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” Perez said on ABC’s “This Week.”
After falling one vote short in a first round of balloting, Perez defeated Ellison 235-200 in the second round. The first Muslim elected to Congress, Ellison had backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Clinton in the Democratic primaries and represented calls within the party for a harder turn to the left and to populism in response to Trump’s rise.
Trump on Sunday tweeted that the “race for DNC Chairman was, of course, totally ‘rigged’ “ in favor of Clinton’s choice. Saturday night, Trump had congratulated Perez on Twitter and said “I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party!”
Democrats have been struggling to understand what happened in the election and to determine how to move forward from their worst national electoral position in decades. As well as losing the White House, Democrats are the minority in both chambers of Congress and hold only 16 governorships. During Obama’s eight years in the White House the party also lost hundreds of seats in state legislatures. Outside groups are jockeying for influence and donors, while anti-Trump protesters are grappling with how to translate their anger into action and change.
The DNC has largely been in suspended animation since November, waiting for a new chairman or chairwoman before hiring additional staff and starting the post-election work of its Unity Commission, which will consider changes to the party’s primary process.
Perez wouldn’t say whether he intends to launch an “autopsy” report like the one that Republicans conducted after their losses in 2012. He committed to surveying DNC members on what they see as the committee’s failings and to work on “internal culture change.” He also pledged to use the party structure to reach out to progressive groups including unions, Planned Parenthood and grass-roots protest groups that are cropping up across the country.
