DNC Chair Tom Perez and DNC Deputy Chair Rep. Keith Ellison will announce tonight that they will kick off the Democratic Turnaround Tour starting March 24 with stops in Detroit and Flint, Michigan, before continuing on to New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia in following days. Additional states and locations will be added in the months to come.
 
The two will discuss the tour on tonight’s inaugural edition of Democrats Live, which will air on the DNC’s Facebook and YouTube accounts.
 
At each stop, Tom and Keith will share their vision for turning around the Democratic Party from the ground up. They’ll meet with Democrats and progressives in a diverse group of states to discuss the importance of sustained local organizing efforts and stress the need for Democrats up and down the ballot to deliver a positive message of economic opportunity in response to Donald Trump’s administration of corporate handouts and broken promises to America’s working families.
 
“The Democratic turnaround starts right now,” said Tom Perez. “And it starts with our focus on getting back to basics and building from the ground up. We’ve already seen what’s possible when progressives get organized and show up in places like Delaware and Connecticut. But we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas in every single zip code, so I’m excited to hit the road with Keith as we kick off our efforts this spring.”
 
“We didn’t succeed in 2016 because in too many communities we failed to show up, failed to engage, and failed to turn out,” said Rep. Ellison. “Tom and I are committed to working with our state parties and allies to stay engaged 365 days-a-year. Progressives are hungry to fight back against the disaster that has been Donald Trump’s first two months in the White House. Together, we’ll channel this grassroots energy into electoral victories for Democrats up and down the ballot.”
 
These states represent both places that Democrats lost in November and states where there are opportunities to pick up seats up and down the ballot.  Tom and Keith both believe that the only way to do this is to invest in local organizing and state parties, which have long been ignored.