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Tom Perez

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Well the most important thing we're going to do is to build a fair, level playing field for everybody, i welcome the debate. I think there is going to be a bumper crop of candidates and that the American people are going to see a very robust Democratic Party. What will unite all of them is that they are all fighting for a better deal and a brighter future and better tomorrows for everyone, not just a few at the top. And what we're doing at the DNC is making sure we build the infrastructure, the organizing infrastructure, the technology infrastructure so that whoever ... becomes the nominee that they can walk into a DNC that enables them to sprint across the finish line.Listen hereWhile Perez said he hopes ideas and ideals are what helps to unite his party, it may just be mutual disgust for Trump that will act as the super glue for Democrats.Below are some of excerpts of my interview with DNC Chairman Tom Perez. This QA has been edited for brevity, clarity and flow.Mark Preston: As you look at the current state of play right now, what is the Democratic plan to address Donald Trump in this off year?Tom Perez: Step one is that we have to take on Donald Trump in all of these areas that he's trying to take America back, and make America weak, not make America great. Equally important though, we can't simply be against Donald Trump. We've got to articulate what we are for, and we have always been fighting for a fair shake for everyone. Listen hereFollow CNN OpinionJoin us on Twitter and FacebookPreston: (W)hen you were running for chairman, ... it was a bit of a contentious fight. There was a lot of criticism from the grassroots about the battle between establishment Democrats and grassroots Democrats. ... What is being done behind the scenes to try to bridge the divide between those two (factions)?Perez: Every single day we are leading with our values. ... If we want to address income inequality in this country, one of the most important things we can do is support efforts for people to unionize and form a union. When unions succeed, the middle class succeeds. When unions succeed, income inequality goes down, and what we have to do as a party is be out there on the issues that matter the most to people: health care, good jobs, the efforts to cut support for public education, we have to articulate what we stand for.