Perez: We need to redefine role of DNC to reverse GOP victories

The newly elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee says the DNC needs to redefine its role to reverse 2016 GOP victories. 

“We begin by building strong parties in the 50 states and the territories,” Tom Perez told ABC’s “This Week.”

“We didn’t invest enough in our state party infrastructure. We didn’t invest enough in grass roots organization. We ignored rural swaths of America. We can’t do that. We need an every-ZIP-code strategy.”

{mosads}Perez, who previously served as former President Barack Obama’s Labor secretary, won the party chairman election on the second ballot during a vote in Atlanta on Saturday. His first motion as chairman was to appoint Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), his top rival for the post, as deputy chairman.

The election pitted Perez, the party’s establishment choice, against Ellison, who represented the more progressive faction of the Democrats.

“We need to redefine the role of the DNC so that we’re helping to elect people from the school board to the Senate.” Perez added on Sunday.

“And the best way to do that is to build that strong infrastructure and to strengthen our partnerships with people in the labor movement, with Planned Parenthood, with others who are involved in that grassroots organization infrastructure.”