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DNC Chair on Getting out the Vote During Midterms: 'You Can't Door Knock in Rural America'

September 8, 2018

Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez on Friday said the Democratic Party "can't door knock in rural America" during a discussion about the DNC's get-out-the-vote strategy for the midterm elections.

Perez appeared on MSNBC's "All In," where he discussed the DNC's strategy to trying to take back Congress in the midterm elections, saying that they were investing their money in infrastructure and digital organizing.

Host Chris Hayes said that many people thought that there were lost opportunities during the 2016 election, prompting him to ask Perez whether the party was doing things differently to prepare for the November midterm elections.

Perez said the DNC was spending $0 on television ads and were instead focusing on digital organizing and infrastructure.

"To get back to your question which is a really important one, we are investing and organizing. We are investing and making sure we build that organizing infrastructure, the technology infrastructure because you can't door knock in rural America," Perez said. "That is why we invested in digital organizing in Indiana, Georgia, Montana and elsewhere."

Perez's comment about door knocking followed his remarks about how the Democrats were "building meaningful relationships" with voters.

Following the Republican victories in 2016, Perez acknowledged that the DNC needed to redefine its role to help Democrats retake control of Congress and the White House.

"We didn’t invest enough in our state party infrastructure. We didn’t invest enough in grass roots organization. We ignored rural swaths of America. We can’t do that. We need an every-ZIP-code strategy," he said.

Hillary Clinton's failed presidential campaign was heavily scrutinized following her loss to Donald Trump for not being able to appeal to middle-class voters in rural states.