Keeping the old guard in place.
Via NBC News:
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez endorsed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election Thursday, angering some on the left who say the party leader is violating his own pledge to stay out of primaries.
Perez’s highly unusual involvement caught even Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the DNC deputy chairman, by surprise.
“The Democratic Party should not intervene in the primary process,” Ellison said through a spokesperson. “It is our role to be fair to all contestants and let the voters decide.”
Perez addressed the convention of the New York State Democratic Party, which is effectively controlled by Cuomo, and declared he was “proud to endorse” Cuomo and his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul.
“You’ve been delivering results and you’ve been delivering results that have made people’s lives better. That’s why Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul are charter members of the accomplishments wing of the Democratic Party, and that’s why I’m proud to endorse them,” Perez said.
Cuomo is seeking for a third term and facing a spirited primary challenge from actress Cynthia Nixon, who is running to his left.
Party chairmen typically play the neutral arbiter role in primaries, and Perez himself has repeatedly stressed the importance of staying out of Democratic contests. He took over the party last year pledging to restore trust after controversy about DNC involvement in the 2016 presidential nominating contest.
A DNC official, who would only comment on background, told NBC News that no DNC resources would be used to support Cuomo’s primary campaign or to attack any Democrats running.