SURELY ALL HIS FAWNING PRAISE OF JEFF SESSIONS WILL DISQUALIFY HIM: Labor Secretary Perez enters DNC chair race.

Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Thursday joined the race to become the next Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman, shaking up a campaign that has so far been dominated by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)

“I’m in this race because I really believe that this is one of those ‘Where were you?’ moments,” Perez said on a conference call with state Democratic chairmen.

“It’s not just about the future of the Democratic Party, but the future of America, and given what happened last month, I believe that at no point in my life has the Democratic chair been this important. We need strong progressive leadership that can deliver results. I’m a proud progressive and have been getting stuff done my entire career.”

Perez promised to return to the DNC’s “50 state strategy,” implemented under former chairman Howard Dean in the 2000s, which has become a familiar refrain among the candidates in the race.

Many state party officials are frustrated, believing they were ignored by the national party under the leadership of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

No matter who you are, the nice thing about following Debbie is that, well, you’ll be following Debbie.