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Ex-labour secretary elected to lead US Democrats

He narrowly beats Ellison, who was asked to serve as deputy chairman after his supporters exploded in anger

Published Sun, Feb 26, 2017 · 09:50 PM

    Atlanta

    FORMER US labour secretary Thomas Perez was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday, narrowly defeating Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota to take the helm of a still-divided party stunned by President Donald Trump's victory but hopeful that it can ride the backlash against his presidency to revival.

    The balloting, which carried a measure of suspense not seen in the party in decades, revealed that Democrats have yet to heal the wounds from last year's presidential primary campaign. Mr Perez, buoyed by activists most loyal to former president Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, won with 235 votes out of 435 cast on the second ballot.

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