WASHINGTON Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a leading candidate to chair the Democratic National Committee , wrote in a letter to voting DNC members on Thursday that while he will not release a public estimate of his support, he is in an excellent position to win next week.

The letter was a response to the release on Tuesday of a whip count by former Labor Secretary Tom Perez s DNC chair campaign, which said Perez had locked up 180 of the 224 votes needed to clinch the chairmanship in the first round of voting. (If a candidate does not receive a majority of the 447 votes in the first round, there are additional ballots until someone obtains a majority.)

In his message to the state party chairs and other officials that have a vote in the DNC race, Ellison offered thinly veiled criticism of Perezs tactics without actually naming him.

One of the other great candidates for this race released an unverifiable public whip count earlier this week, Ellison wrote. You received a voicemail, email and a text message trying to make the race sound like it is over. And the goal is clear: to exert pressure on you.

We chose not to engage in the same tactics because we believe you deserve the respect to make your own decision without a finger on the scale, he continued. However, I feel compelled to respond: we are very confident in our whip count and are in an excellent position to win next week.

The Perez campaign rejected the suggestion that the former labor secretary had tried to assert that he has already won.

We are proud of the broad support weve received, but its clear that this race is far from over. Tom will spend the next 10 days traveling across the country to talk to Democrats about rebuilding our party, Perez campaign spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement.

In addition to Ellisons letter, he appears to have taken other steps to show confidence in his chances of winning.

Ellison is discussing a deal with New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley to have him lead DNC operations in exchange for his support, sources close to the matter told NBC News on Tuesday.

The contest between Ellison and Perez, the clear front-runners in the race, is viewed by many progressive activists as a proxy battle between the progressive wing of the party and the more centrist Democratic establishment. Ellison, a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the 2016 presidential primary, enjoys strong support among Sanders supporters. Meanwhile, Perez, who endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primary race and was all but endorsed by former President Barack Obama , has gotten more traction with Clinton backers in the primary race.

Perez, Ellison and Buckley are competing with seven other candidates: South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ; Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown; South Carolina Democratic Party chair Jaime Harrison ; media strategist Jehmu Greene; Robert Vinson Brannum, Veterans Committee chair of the NACCPs Washington D.C. branch; Milwaukee attorney Peter Peckarsky and Ohio activist Sam Ronan.

DNC voting members will elect the next chair and other senior officers at a meeting in Atlanta on Feb. 25.

This story has been updated to include a response from the Perez campaign.