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Harrison, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2020, will now be asked to guide the top committee at a time when Democrats control all three key bodies in Washington, the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“I have no intention of letting victory turn into complacency because we have seen what happens when we don’t invest everywhere. I plan to get down to work on lifting the Biden-Harris administration, build on our progress and strengthen our party, “Harrison said.
Harrison’s task, unlike that of his predecessor Tom Perez, will be to act as a megaphone for Democratic achievements in the years to come and fend off Republican attacks, all in the hope that the party avoids losing its majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
“The job of getting the job done is on the Hill and in the White House; the job of making sure that this message gets out there and that it gets promoted and spread to the voters so that those voters understand it, I believe it is. is the job of the DNC, “Harrison told CNN in an interview before being officially elected president. He went on to describe the job as conveying” this message “so that people” understand that is what it is. that you get when the Democrats control ”.
Harrison had long been seen as the sole candidate for DNC chairman and Biden made his selection official shortly before his inauguration. The former Senate candidate officially took office on Thursday after members of the Democratic National Committee met virtually to approve Biden’s slate of candidates.
There was no suspense ahead of the election: The only list of candidates submitted was that proposed by Biden’s transition team, several Democratic officials told CNN.
“My friends, despite all that we have been through over the past year, I am excited because today we embark on a new mission to build back better and restore hope to this great nation,” said Harrison in his first speech to the DNC.
He also nodded at the need for Democrats to make inroads into reliable Republican states and rural America.
“We’re done looking at the map, ignoring the red, as we focus on a few purple areas,” Harrison said. “We have finished focusing only on our cities while forgetting those who live on dirt roads. When I look at the map, I see a whole country at stake.”
In addition to Harrison, a series of top Democrats will take on leadership roles at the DNC under Biden.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is now vice chair of the Civic Engagement and Voter Protection Committee, while Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth and Representative Filemon Vela Jr. of Texas are all vice presidents. Virginia McGregor has been approved as committee treasurer, while Jason Rae will continue to serve as secretary and Chris Korge as national finance chair.
Perez will step down as DNC after four years at the helm. Obama’s former labor secretary took over the committee in 2017, when it was rudderless, prone to scandals and unable to raise significant funds after years of neglect by the Obama administration. Perez worked to rebuild the committee and focused on two key issues: investing in party infrastructure and restoring trust in the DNC after the committee became a source of controversy in the 2016 nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“We have had to rebuild our infrastructure and restore confidence, and I think we’ve made great strides in both areas,” Perez said in his remarks Thursday.
He leaves the committee in a much better place than he found it. The DNC helped Biden break fundraising records during the 2020 campaign and is now well positioned with a strong low dollar donor that was almost nonexistent four years earlier.
“Frankly,” Perez told the audience Thursday, “we inherited a Radio Shack and turned it into an Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.”
Harrison, however, will be asked to do something very different – and his power will be somewhat constrained by the politics of the White House, which will have direct control of the committee. Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s deputy chief of staff and former campaign manager, will have committee operations within her purview, meaning she will work to ensure that the political committee’s work is aligned with the goals. Biden policies. O’Malley Dillon was the executive director of the DNC after Obama was elected in 2008.
Ken Martin – the chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party – was re-elected Thursday to be the chairman of the Association of State Democratic Committees, an organization within the DNC that coordinates all state parties.
“I look forward to continuing our party’s work to elect champions of justice, freedom, fairness and opportunity for all Americans,” Martin said in a statement in response to his re-election.
Perez, a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan, ended a tribute to his tenure with a joke about time off.
“Please don’t call me between 3am and 9am this Sunday,” he said, a nod to the Bills playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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