Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez got an earful Friday from Detroit voters, who say they are worried about the 2020 election cycle and the party’s ability to coalesce behind a single candidate.

In a meeting with about 50 Democrats in Detroit, Perez said the party has been organizing, visiting and keeping campaign offices in communities since 2017 when Republican Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.

“About a month into my tenure as DNC chair, I went to a church not far from here and a woman raised her hand and said, ‘You need to stop showing up at my church every fourth October and telling me that you care and asking for my vote,’ ” Perez said. “And you know what? She was right.”

Ensuring that urban voters turn out for the November election is key because they tend to be reliable and loyal Democrats. If they stay home, like more than 42,000 Detroit voters did in 2016, Democratic candidates suffer.

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Republicans aren't giving up on the votes of African Americans, even though Detroit gave 97% of its votes to former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and 95% of the vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Republican National Committee announced Thursday that it will open campaign offices in urban areas, including Detroit, across the nation to spread the message that African Americans have fared well under Trump's administration.

Some attending the meeting, held Friday at the offices of the 14th Congressional District Democrats, said Republicans are making inroads in some areas of the state.

Pastor Chris Martin, of the Cathedral of Faith in Flint, told party leaders that his congregants hear more from Republicans than Democrats, and that there may not be room in the Democratic Party for them anymore.

“I am a moderate Democrat, but I do not support abortion. I do not support same-sex marriage,” he said “I have people in my congregations who ask us, 'How do we preach one thing on Sunday, but then campaign for people who are totally opposed to that?'

“As an African American pastor and lifelong Democrat? Do I still have a place in this party?”

Perez said he knows he needs to expand his visits to more than just Detroit and show members that “The Democratic Party tent is a very inclusive tent. Because I firmly believe that if the goal is to better the lives of the people in your congregations and your community, then Democrats are a far better choice.”

Others at the meeting expressed frustration at:

The current state of the Democratic presidential race, with candidates tearing each other apart in debates

A change in the rules that allowed more candidates onto the debate stage

The fact that the candidate with the most delegates — but not a majority — going into the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in July may not end up with the nomination

Whether it’s time to look at Iowa's role as the first state in the nation to vote in the presidential race

Perez said a reexamination of the presidential primary schedule is long overdue, especially after the controversial Iowa caucuses that were plagued by technical problems that delayed the results for days.

Perez said previous presidential races have featured “heavyweight debates,” with Democrats ripping into one another, including the 2008 race between John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But, in the end, the different camps of the party came together , and will again in 2020.

“I would be lying to you if I were to say I can wave a magic wand and everybody's kind of going to go chill for the next debate,” he said. “But every single person running for president knows that this is not about them. This is about something much more important. This is about our democracy, as we know it.”

As for the rules governing the national convention, they were agreed upon by all the members of the national party and addressed some of the concerns that came up during the 2016 presidential race.

“It reflects the view of the Democratic Party that, whoever the nominee is, they need to have the capacity to unite the party, and the evidence of that is that it’s someone who could get the 50% of the delegates, plus one,” he said.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.