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The other front-runner for the job is President Obama’s former Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez. Thursday, in a statement closely resembling Buckley’s, the state party chair from South Carolina, Jamie Harrison, exited the race and backed Perez, adding to the long list of party officials and members of Obama’s former cabinet who have lined up behind him.

Thrilled to have @Harrison4DNC on #TeamTom ahead of the final vote. He's a remarkable leader and will be a critical partner as we rebuild. pic.twitter.com/2tsRnKEZlb

— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) February 23, 2017

Perez argues that his experience running a large federal agency like the Department of Labor makes him uniquely qualified to oversee the national party. \"Who has a track record of turning around organizations of that scale? That’s what we need to do,\" he told ABC News in a recent interview. \"The Department of Labor is a big organization 16,000 strong and a 45 billion dollar budget and I had a good track record of making sure it was firing on all cylinders.\"

Like Buckley did for Ellison, Harrison praised Perez for promising to put grassroots activism front and center and strengthening state party chapters, but also emphasized Perez’s experience in Washington.

\"Tom Perez has brought integrity, passion, and tenacity to every job he’s ever had,\" Harrison wrote. \"These qualities are why Barack Obama and Joe Biden trusted him to spearhead an economic agenda that brought us out of the recession. 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.\"

Neither Perez nor Ellison will confirm whether or not they have the majority of votes needed to win right now. Only 447 people will vote Saturday and most likely, the election will continue to be an iterative process with multiple rounds of ballots and debate, which could leave room for leader to emerge.

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has received endorsements from five former DNC Chairs, including Howard Dean this week. Dean said Buttigieg, who turned 35 last month, brings a young perspective the party needs.

But Buttigieg -- an openly gay former Naval officer who served in Afghanistan -- entered the race relatively recently and lacks the national profile or name recognition like Ellison or Perez. Still, with his impressive resume, members have given him a look and he is quickly developing a following.

It's time to bring a fresh start to the @DNC. We cannot afford to repeat our mistakes. #PickPete #DNCChair https://t.co/vAtqyCvwoA

— Pete for DNC (@PeteforDNC) February 21, 2017

“Most important thing he is the 'outside of the beltway’ candidate,” Dean said this week of Buttigieg. \"This party is in trouble. Our strongest age group that votes for us is under 35. And they don't consider themselves Democrats. They elected Barack Obama twice. They didn't elect Hillary Clinton but voted 58 percent for her and don't come out for the midterms or down ballot candidates.\"

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said that Sen. Chuck Schumer is the Senate majority leader. He is the minority leader.

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