Race to head DNC tightens as New Hampshire state chair drops out

— -- The race to lead the Democratic Party tightened as a longtime state party chair dropped out and threw his support to Rep. Keith Ellison one week before the DNC election.

New Hampshire party chair Raymond Buckley’s withdrawal from the race Saturday leaves 10 candidates vying to become chair of the Democratic National Committee. But the leading contenders are the Minnesota congressman, a favorite among the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, and Tom Perez, who was labor secretary under President Obama.

"While it was a tremendous honor to run for DNC chair over the past few months, I am proud to throw my support behind Keith so we can ensure that the next chair of the DNC is dedicated to investing in and strengthening state parties and ensuring that the DNC is an accountable organization," Buckley said in a statement.

Democratic state party leaders have felt neglected since 2009 when national party officials and the campaign staff of then newly-elected President Obama decided to concentrate the organization's cash at the national level in Washington.

Since the party's loss in the presidential election, Democratic Party state and local officials have said loudly that they believe the answer to winning again is to invest again in party offices around the country and decentralize resources.

Ellison praised the New Hampshire Democratic Party and thanked Buckley for his support.

"Democrats in the Granite State have an incredible track record, winning 11 out of the last 13 statewide elections. That’s because of the decades of work by Ray, who believes, like I do, that the Democratic Party must strengthen and empower our state and local parties," Ellison said in a statement. "Throughout this race I’ve heard loud and clear from DNC members that this is a moment to use all our talents to rebuild the party from the grassroots up. That is why I am proud to have Ray’s support."

The question now is whether this new alliance will give Ellison enough votes to secure the chairmanship next week. Buckley's spokesperson told ABC News in an email that the two teams are "confident" that by joining forces Ellison can win.

But Perez still enjoys broad support among the party officials who make up the DNC.

Just this week, Perez's campaign released a statement claiming to have locked in 180 of the 224 votes needed; there are 447 party members on the DNC. Perez has enjoyed big-name endorsements from former Vice President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder. But he argues that no single candidate in the race has as a monopoly on grassroots support. Farmworkers and some other labor organizations are among those backing his candidacy.

“What this comes down to is, ‘Who is best positioned to both unite the party, take the fight to Donald Trump and transform the DNC?’” Perez told ABC News at a party event in Baltimore last weekend. “‘Who has a track record of turning around organizations of that scale?’"

Ellison contends, however, that he is the "unity candidate" who has both worked at the state party level and was an early supporter of Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

"I’ve gone to over 28 states in the past two years, helping candidates,” Ellison told ABC News last week. “I am the only candidate that supported Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both, and I can unite our party around the core idea that the Democratic Party has to be fighting for working people and all working people.”

High-profile backers of Ellison’s bid to lead the DNC include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as well as Sanders.

The party committee has been led by acting chair Donna Brazile since last summer when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz stepped down amid controversy around internal DNC emails published by WikiLeaks.