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| Labor Secretary Thomas Perez Is Said to Plan Run to Lead D.N.C. | Labor Secretary Thomas Perez Is Said to Plan Run to Lead D.N.C. |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez has told three senior Democrats that he intends to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, challenging the front-running candidate, Representative Keith Ellison, and inserting an ally of President Obama into the contest to rebuild a bruised party. | WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez has told three senior Democrats that he intends to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, challenging the front-running candidate, Representative Keith Ellison, and inserting an ally of President Obama into the contest to rebuild a bruised party. |
| Mr. Perez, who had also been considering a run for Maryland governor, is expected to reveal his plan to seek the D.N.C. chairmanship this week, according to Democratic officials briefed on his decision who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. He did not respond to inquiries about his decision-making. | Mr. Perez, who had also been considering a run for Maryland governor, is expected to reveal his plan to seek the D.N.C. chairmanship this week, according to Democratic officials briefed on his decision who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. He did not respond to inquiries about his decision-making. |
| He has been wooed by prominent Democrats for weeks to seek the party post, a lobbying campaign that included entreaties from high-level allies of Mr. Obama. Mr. Perez, who has been on the phone with a number of Democratic governors and other party leaders, is expected to meet with the president himself to discuss the position this week. | He has been wooed by prominent Democrats for weeks to seek the party post, a lobbying campaign that included entreaties from high-level allies of Mr. Obama. Mr. Perez, who has been on the phone with a number of Democratic governors and other party leaders, is expected to meet with the president himself to discuss the position this week. |
| While Mr. Obama may not offer a formal endorsement of his labor secretary’s candidacy, Mr. Perez will effectively have the imprimatur of the president who appointed him to his cabinet. Mr. Perez’s entry into the race could start a proxy battle between Democrats loyal to the Mr. Obama and those from the more liberal wing of the party represented by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is backing Mr. Ellison, a Minnesota progressive, for party chairman. | While Mr. Obama may not offer a formal endorsement of his labor secretary’s candidacy, Mr. Perez will effectively have the imprimatur of the president who appointed him to his cabinet. Mr. Perez’s entry into the race could start a proxy battle between Democrats loyal to the Mr. Obama and those from the more liberal wing of the party represented by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is backing Mr. Ellison, a Minnesota progressive, for party chairman. |
| Mr. Ellison has been the early favorite in the slow-forming party contest, winning support from liberal powers such as Mr. Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the A.F.L.-C.I.O., in addition to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader. After finding considerable unease among committee members over the prospect of electing a part-time chairman, Mr. Ellison said last week that he would resign his seat in Congress if he is elected. | Mr. Ellison has been the early favorite in the slow-forming party contest, winning support from liberal powers such as Mr. Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the A.F.L.-C.I.O., in addition to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming minority leader. After finding considerable unease among committee members over the prospect of electing a part-time chairman, Mr. Ellison said last week that he would resign his seat in Congress if he is elected. |
| Still, at party forums, in interviews and in private conversations, a range of Democrats have indicated an appetite for additional candidates to join the race, which also includes Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, and Raymond Buckley, the head of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. By heeding those calls, Mr. Perez is wagering that the committee members who will select the next party leader in late February are open to tapping somebody with few ties to the D.N.C. | Still, at party forums, in interviews and in private conversations, a range of Democrats have indicated an appetite for additional candidates to join the race, which also includes Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, and Raymond Buckley, the head of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. By heeding those calls, Mr. Perez is wagering that the committee members who will select the next party leader in late February are open to tapping somebody with few ties to the D.N.C. |
| While he has served in positions in state and federal government, Mr. Perez, 55, has scant experience with electoral politics, having served just four years on the Montgomery County Council in Maryland. The state party chiefs and other committee members who make up the voting members of the two national parties at times prefer candidates to come from their own ranks when they do not control the White House. | While he has served in positions in state and federal government, Mr. Perez, 55, has scant experience with electoral politics, having served just four years on the Montgomery County Council in Maryland. The state party chiefs and other committee members who make up the voting members of the two national parties at times prefer candidates to come from their own ranks when they do not control the White House. |
| But there has been no groundswell of support from the committee for any of the announced candidates, and the contest remains highly volatile. In Mr. Perez, Democrats would have an articulate messenger who has ties to both the Hispanic community (his parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic) and the Rust Belt (he grew up in Buffalo). | |
| He could potentially handle both the public and private aspects of the job, appearing on television as a face of the opposition to President-elect Donald J. Trump while also cultivating the party’s contributors. With many senior Democrats casting about for an alternative to Mr. Ellison — whose views on Israel have drawn scorn from Jewish groups and Haim Saban, one of the party’s most significant donors — Mr. Perez could prove a contender. | He could potentially handle both the public and private aspects of the job, appearing on television as a face of the opposition to President-elect Donald J. Trump while also cultivating the party’s contributors. With many senior Democrats casting about for an alternative to Mr. Ellison — whose views on Israel have drawn scorn from Jewish groups and Haim Saban, one of the party’s most significant donors — Mr. Perez could prove a contender. |
| “I like Tom a lot, and if he was to run, I think he would be a formidable candidate,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, who heads the Democratic Governors’ Association and has spoken with Mr. Perez recently. | “I like Tom a lot, and if he was to run, I think he would be a formidable candidate,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, who heads the Democratic Governors’ Association and has spoken with Mr. Perez recently. |
| But Mr. Perez’s bid will also test how willing Democrats are to risk angering Mr. Sanders’s legions of grass-roots supporters — and whether they will bow to Mr. Obama in the final weeks of his presidency. | But Mr. Perez’s bid will also test how willing Democrats are to risk angering Mr. Sanders’s legions of grass-roots supporters — and whether they will bow to Mr. Obama in the final weeks of his presidency. |