Labor chief Perez expected to announce bid to lead DNC

WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Tom Perez plans to officially announce his candidacy for the leadership of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday, according to Democrats familiar with his effort.

Encouraged to mount a bid by the White House, the Obama administration official will challenge early front-runner Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison for the chairmanship of the party’s national organization. Perez has spent much of the past few days gauging interest in his effort among top Democrats, including governors up for re-election in 2018.

The contest between Perez, who backed Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, and Ellison, a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, threatens to inflame lingering tensions from the primary race.

Perez, a DominicanAmerican who grew up in the Rust Belt, will argue that he can represent the Democratic Party’s diversity and be an effective salesman for an economic message aimed at regaining support among white, working-class voters.

While Ellison has received the backing of party leaders, including incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Sanders, he has faced opposition from Jewish groups, who have raised questions about his comments about Israel, his defense of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and his commitment to his own party.

Perez has spent much of his career in appointed government posts with little experience as a candidate. South Carolina’s party chairman, Jaime Harrison, and the party head in New Hampshire, Ray Buckley, have also announced bids.