Outgoing Labor Secretary Tom Perez has jumped into the race to be the next leader of the Democratic National Committee, upending the contest and illuminating the sharp divide among Democrats over the future direction of the party.

In announcing his decision to run on a call with state party chairs Thursday, Perez described himself as ideally positioned to knit together the establishment and progressive wings of the Democratic Party.

"I'm in this race because I really believe that this is one of those 'Where were you?' moments," he said.

"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," he said. "We need strong progressive leadership that can deliver results. I'm a proud progressive and have been getting stuff done my entire career."

Perez is the son of Dominican immigrants and a former civil rights attorney at the Department of Justice. He was nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the Department of Labor three years ago.

Before Perez jumped into the race, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota was the front-runner in the February election to guide the party, which is trying to pick up the pieces following Donald Trump's stunning presidential victory last month.

Ellison, who is African-American and a Muslim, was among the first sitting members of Congress to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the Democratic presidential primary last year.

Sanders and his fellow progressive, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both have endorsed Ellison, seeing a chairman who would push the party to continue moving in a progressive direction and refocus it on an economic message. They and many other party members believe such moves are necessary to win back voters, particularly white working-class voters in the Midwest who were once reliable Democrats but voted for Trump this year.

Yet others in the party, as The Hill notes, are concerned having a progressive such as Ellison at the helm could turn moderates away. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden reportedly encouraged Perez to seek the DNC post, and Ellison's supporters have accused the White House of risking a repeat of the mistakes they believe led to November's electoral losses.

Many in the party are also wary of a DNC leader who would not be focused on the job full time. Following the tenure of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida – who resigned in July after the release of hacked emails that appeared to show DNC officials favoring Hillary Clinton over Sanders in the primary – Ellison has said he will resign his House seat if he wins the chairmanship.

In announcing his candidacy, Perez said his labor and civil rights experience would allow him to re-engage with disaffected working-class Democrats, without turning off loyal party blocs.

"Now more than ever, I believe we need a full-time chair who can inspire people, grow our party and speak to its broad tent. And we need a chair with the leadership and management experience to protect the progress we've made and keep us moving forward," he said in an essay in Mic on Thursday.