ATLANTA — South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison announced Thursday he is ending his bid to lead the Democratic National Committee and throwing his support behind former Labor Secretary Tom Perez — shaking up the race days before party officials pick a new chair.
Mr. Harrison said he concluded he could not capture 224 of the 447 votes needed to win the race, and said Mr. Perez is best alternative to lead the party’s rebuilding efforts.
“We have a candidate for DNC Chair who can unite the Democratic Party behind the goal of enacting progressive change, a candidate who can take the fight to Donald Trump and rebuild our Party infrastructure, and a candidate whom I, as a voting member of the DNC, am proud to support: Tom Perez,” he said.
DNC members are gathered here for a three-day winter meeting and are set to vote Saturday on a new chair.
Mr. Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota are the front-runners in the race, while South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Peter Buttigieg is holding out hope that DNC members will give him more consideration if neither Mr. Perez nor Mr. Ellison can win the election in the opening rounds of voting.
Mr. Harrison said Mr. Perez brings the “integrity, passion, and tenacity” needed for the job.
“These qualities are why Barack Obama and Joe Biden trusted him to spearhead an economic agenda that brought us out of the recession,” he said. “They are why Eric Holder trusted him to enforce our civil rights and voting rights laws so that everyone is treated equally under the law and has access to the ballot box. And they are why I trust Tom to lead the Democratic turnaround as Chair of the DNC.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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