Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard is calling on Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez to step down — going as far as to start a petition supporting his ouster.
The 2020 longshot sent an email to supporters Sunday that read, “Today I’m asking that you join me in demanding that Tom Perez accept responsibility for this gross failure in leadership and resign now,” along with a link to the petition.
Gabbard, a congress member from Hawaii added in the email that the “trust” voters deserve under Perez’s leadership “has been broken.”
The Hawaii Democrat appeared to take a jab at the DNC’s rule change that Perez allowed for to accommodate billionaire Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg.
Gabbard, along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, had all unsuccessfully petitioned the DNC to loosen their requirements to be featured in debates.
“Under the leadership of Tom Perez, the DNC has kowtowed to billionaires, caused a debacle in Iowa, and undermined the voter’s trust in our elections,” the email read.
Speaking to WMUR in New Hampshire, the 2020 hopeful elaborated on her reasoning behind calling for Perez’s resignation.
“It’s both because of what we’ve seen happen in Iowa, but also over the last several months, the growing skepticism that I hear from Democrat voters that this primary will be carried out in a fair way where voters can get the information that they need to make the best choice in who should be our Democratic nominee, and ultimately who should be our next president and commander in chief.”
Perez, meanwhile, told CNN on Sunday that he had no intention of stepping down.