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Dems to choose leader

ATLANTA — Democrats are beginning the process of rebuilding their party by choosing a new national chairman charged with turning widespread opposition to President Donald Trump into more election victories.

With the outcome of Saturday’s vote uncertain, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison made a final push Friday to cajole support from the hundreds of state party leaders, donors and activists who make up the Democratic National Committee and determine the party’s direction.

Perez supporters say he’s on the cusp of the required majority. Ellison maintains that he is still a viable candidate. A handful of other candidates are holding out hope that neither Ellison nor Perez can command a majority, opening up the race for an upset in later rounds of voting.

Each of the front-runners promises an aggressive counter to the Trump administration, while rebuilding a depleted organization at the state and local level — a tacit admission that party infrastructure withered during Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House, despite the president’s personal electoral success.

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