Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) on Friday received jeers during his speech when he mentioned that he lost to Tom Perez in the Democratic National Committee chairmanship election, prompting him to talk about the importance of being a team player.
Ellison, who serves as the deputy chairman of the DNC, was one of the keynote speakers at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee national candidate training event in Washington, D.C. alongside Cynthia Nixon, a progressive gubernatorial candidate challenging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.).
"I ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee and I ended up being deputy chairman of the Democratic National Commitee," said Ellison, prompting the crowd to yell out in frustration.
Ellison then received applause after he tried to calm them down by talking about the importance of "being all in for the team." He told the crown that, while things don't always go one's way, the passion and the people he was fighting for were still there, so he would keep fighting for them.
"What am I [going to] do? Say, 'I didn't win. I'm out of here.' No," Ellison said. "Did you know that in Missouri and in Texas and maybe other places, maternal mortality has risen? Women are dying because we are losing elections."
"We don't have the right to lose a damn election. We have to win. We have to win," he added.