Members of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday elected Tom Perez, a Hispanic from the party's more traditional faction who served as labor secretary under former President Barack Obama, as their new chairman.

Perez, known as a civil rights advocate, won 235 of the 445 votes cast by the Democratic delegates meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, since Thursday to elect the new chairman of the DNC, a position equal to that of secretary general in European parties.

The first thing Perez did after being elected the new Democratic leader was to shake the hand of Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison of the most progressive wing of the party, an African-American Muslim who came on strongly as Perez's greatest rival for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee.

“Party for the people, not big money!” a group of Ellison supporters chanted from the back of the hotel ballroom, as reported in The Guardian. Perez  was considered as Hillary Clinton’s running mate, and his nomination did not dispel a sense among Ellison supporters that Democrats had missed an opportunity to change course after years of election losses, especially at the state and local level.

Perez then proposed a motion to name his "good friend" Ellison as deputy chair of the DNC, and received unanimous consent.

Ellison accepted the position and asked his followers to support Perez starting today because Democrats cannot risk going forward divided.

"I'm asking you to give everything you've got to support Chairman Perez," Ellison told his fellow Democrats.

Perez, a member of former President Barack Obama's Cabinet since 2013 until he left office, was encouraged by Obama's team to run for the position, and had the backing of former Vice President Joe Biden, one of the most popular members of the party.

Democrats are submerged in a serious crisis due to the unexpected loss of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her run for the White House, as well as by their inability to win back the Senate from the conservatives in the legislative elections last November.

At the same time, they could scarcely cut into Republicans' majority in the House of Representatives, while suffering big losses at state and local levels.
    But for Obama, Perez strikes a positive note looking forward: "I know that Tom Perez will unite us under that banner of opportunity, and lay the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leadership for this big, bold, inclusive, dynamic America we love so much," the former president said in a statement.