Feb 14, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Former DNC chair Tom Perez "seriously considering" run for Maryland governor

Orion Rummler

Tom Perez wears glasses and a suit — Tom Perez at the virtual Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in August 2020. Photo: Tannen Maury/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez is "seriously considering a run for governor in Maryland," he told the New York Times in an interview published Sunday.

Why it matters: Perez ran Maryland's labor department under then-Gov. Martin O'Malley, before going on to serve in same role at the national level under former President Obama, following a four-year stint at the Department of Justice.

Perez "oversaw the rebuilding of the party apparatus from an indebted hollowed-out mess," during his tenure from 2017 until earlier this year, writes the Times. The committee now has more than twice the staffing it did when he took it over.

The big picture: The state's current governor, Larry Hogan, is one of former President Trump's more frequent critics from inside the party. He is not eligible to run again in 2022 after serving two terms.

What he's saying: "We need a governor who can really build strong relationships with the Biden administration, will build strong relationships with every one of the jurisdictions in Maryland."

When asked his opinion on Hogan's tenure, Perez praised him for criticizing former President Trump, but lambasted his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing Hogan of trying to sweep mistakes about COVID-19 tests "under the rug."

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Former DNC chair Tom Perez "seriously considering" run for Maryland governor

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