DNC Chair Vote: Tom Perez Chosen To Lead party

ATLANTA, GA — Former Obama administration labor secretary Tom Perez has been elected the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, winning over more votes than Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), considered to be the more liberal of the two candidates. Perez is the first Latino chosen to lead the party.

Perez won after a second round of voting. In the first round, the threshold to win the race was 214.5 votes, which Perez nearly missed, getting 213.5 votes. Ellison received 200 votes in the first round of voting. The four other candidates in the race barely made a dent with the votes, and dropped out after the first round.

The voting wasn't without its share of minor scandals. Party members were initially given clickers but interim chair Donna Brazile later announced that members would be voting via paper ballots, so it took longer to tally the votes than expected. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out of the race before votes were cast, did not make an endorsement but a text sent by Ellison's campaign claimed he had endorsed the Minnesota lawmaker. The mistake was corrected in a follow-up text and Buttigieg clarified on Twitter that he did not make an endorsement.

Both Perez and Ellison made speeches calling for unity in the party, the first sign of which was shown by Perez who moved to make Ellison deputy chair of the party. Ellison jokingly congratulated Perez for successfully passing his first motion.

President Obama issued a statement congratulating Perez. Below is Obama's full statement:

Congratulations to my friend Tom Perez on his election to lead the Democratic Party, and on his choice of Keith Ellison to help him lead it. I’m proud of all the candidates who ran, and who make this great party what it is. What unites our party is a belief in opportunity – the idea that however you started out, whatever you look like, or whomever you love, America is the place where you can make it if you try. Over the past eight years, our party continued its track record of delivering on that promise: growing the economy, creating new jobs, keeping our people safe with a tough, smart foreign policy, and expanding the rights of our founding to every American – including the right to quality, affordable health insurance. That’s a legacy the Democratic Party will always carry forward. I know that Tom Perez will unite us under that banner of opportunity, and lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership for this big, bold, inclusive, dynamic America we love so much.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Ellison supporter, congratulated Perez but said that it is important that the former labor secretary understand that the "same-old, same-old" is not working.

The vote, which might have gone unnoticed in the past, received wide attention after the Democrats' sweeping loss in the November election as the party was left to grapple with trying to figure out what led to the loss that no one saw coming.

Below is Patch's live blog providing updates on the vote as it happened:

Update: Former Obama administration labor secretary Tom Perez has been elected the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Perez won with 235 votes and 200 votes went to Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)

Perez moved to nominate Ellison as deputy chair of the DNC.

Update: Former DNC chairman Howard Dean, who was a major supporter of South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, has endorsed Keith Ellison.

Update: A total of 427 votes were cast in the first round of voting to elect a new chair of the Democratic National Committee, interim DNC chair Donna Brazile announced. The threshold to win the race was 214.5 votes. Former labor secretary Tom Perez got 213.5 votes, just missing out on the threshold. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) came in second with 200 votes.

Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown, who got 12 votes, dropped out of the race and did not make an endorsement. Air Force veteran Sam Ronan, who did not get any votes, has also dropped out of the race and endorsed Ellison, though he seemed to indicate that he would be happy if Perez were to win. Former DNC official Jehmu Greene, who got half a vote, has endorsed Tom Perez.

Peter Peckarsky, a lawyer from Wisconsin, who did not receive any votes either, has dropped out and endorsed Ellison.

Party members will now go into the second round of voting.

Update: Allies of Keith Ellison reportedly sent out a text message to DNC members claiming Mayor Pete Buttigieg has endorsed the lawmaker from Minnesota when the South Bend, Indiana mayor did not make an official endorsement. Buttigieg clarified on Twitter that he made no endorsement.

In a follow-up text, Ellison's campaign clarified that Buttigieg, who dropped out of the race, did not make an endorsement.

Update: The paper ballots have been collected after the first round of voting and a brief recess has been called.

Update: The first round of voting is about to begin after supporters for the various candidates give their nominating speeches. Both frontrunners Tom Perez and Keith Ellison delivered speeches making their case to party members. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a dark-horse in the race, announced that he is dropping out.

Along with Perez and Ellison, the other contenders in the race are Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown, former DNC official Jehmu Greene, Air Force veteran Sam Ronan and Peter Peckarsky, a lawyer from Wisconsin.

The vote is expected to take longer than previously expected. Reporters were told members will be using paper ballots and not the electronic clickers.

ATLANTA, GA — Democrats will elect the new head of the Democratic National Committee Saturday, a race that might have gone unnoticed in the past, but with the party's sweeping defeat in the November election, members are riled up to take their party in a new direction and voters too are paying attention to the vote.

President Obama's former labor secretary Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) are the frontrunners in the race. A simple majority of the 400 plus DNC members gathered at the Atlanta Convention Center is needed to win the race. Another competitor in the race is South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has the endorsement of former DNC chairman Howard Dean. While Buttiegieg is not favored to win, he has emerged as a refreshing face in the party.

Among the frontrunners, Perez is considered to be an establishment politician, and is seen by some as someone who won't be able to steer the party in a new direction. Ellison, a progressive, has the endorsement of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

If there is no clear winner in the first two rounds of balloting, the candidate with the least votes is dropped off as subsequent rounds of balloting continue. The Hill notes this is the first competitive DNC chair race since Dean was won the election to lead the party in 2005.

Watch a live stream of the vote below:

Patch will update this report. Refresh this page for new developments.

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