Washington (CNN) Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said Monday that the party "always knew that this election was going to be close," just two weeks before voters head to the polls to decide whether or not Democrats will pick up congressional seats and state offices.

"I don't use the term blue wave," he told CNN's John Berman on "New Day." "I always talk about the need for the blocking and tackling. I always talk about the need for organizing."

Democrats are hoping to pick up enough seats in November to gain control of the House of Representatives, and Perez said that he still has "a lot of confidence in the House," but that he knows "the Senate is a tougher map."

He also said that Latino voters would be an important voting bloc for the party and that President Donald Trump's past comments about Hispanics would give Democrats an advantage during next month's elections.

"Let's be honest, I mean, Donald Trump has put the fear of God into a lot of Latino voters," he told Berman. "He has demonized them. He debases them. And he wants them to stay home. We're not going to allow that to happen."

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