Jake Lowary

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

The Tennessee Democratic Party is putting its support behind Tom Perez to lead the Democratic National Committee, the state party said Friday.

The announcement came a day before the party was scheduled to vote on the next party leader in Atlanta, and state party leader Mary Mancini said it shouldn't be viewed as a "wing-vs-wing" move, even if some claim the party is divided.

“The reality is that this was a hard choice between a number of solid progressive candidates all with track records of positive organizational development and grassroots campaign experience," Mancini said in a release.

Perez, a civil rights attorney and former Labor secretary, is facing Congressman Keith Ellison to take over the party, which faced defeating losses in November.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and ex-Attorney General Eric Holder have endorsed Perez. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have endorsed Ellison.

The debate between the two candidates has been deep, and some have said it's divided the party on its direction.

"I want to make this clear — this decision should not be viewed a 'wing-vs-wing' fight and anyone who characterizes it as such is playing into the hands of those who benefit from perpetuating the idea that the Democratic Party is divided,” Mancini said.

Mancini said the decision to support Perez was unanimous among five party leaders from across the state. Tennessee DNC members include Chairwoman Mary Mancini, Vice Chairman John Litz, and three at-large members: Gale Jones-Carson from Memphis, Will Cheek from Nashville and Bill Owen from Knoxville.

Donna Brazile, a former CNN contributor and political strategist, is the current interim chair of the DNC. Both she and her predecessor Debbie Wasserman-Schultz have faced sharp criticism for their leadership and accusations that they leaked presidential debate questions to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the debate and emails that indicated favoritism of Clinton over challenger Sen. Sanders.

Jake Lowary covers Tennessee politics and state government for the USA Today Network. Reach him at 615-881-7039 or follow him on Twitter @JakeLowary