Story highlights Perez is headed to Georgia on Thursday to raise money for the race

The hotly contested race carried major implications as a gauge of President Donald Trump's popularity

(CNN) Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez struck a positive note Wednesday morning just hours after Democrat candidate Jon Ossoff narrowly fell short of capturing a House seat in a longtime conservative stronghold in Georgia.

"We have a lot of wind at our back," Perez told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day." "The progressive energy out there is palpable and the volunteers are out there."

Ossoff received 48.1% of the vote, shy of the 50% he needed to win outright. He and the other top vote-getter -- Republican candidate Karen Handel, who received 19.8% -- will now face off in a runoff election in June, a likely uphill climb for Democrats now that the Republican vote in a reliably GOP district will be consolidated behind one candidate.

The hotly contested race carried major implications as a gauge of President Donald Trump's popularity -- and Trump himself seemed to grasp the high stakes, playing a direct role in its closing days with robocalls and by attacking Ossoff repeatedly on Twitter.

On Tuesday, Trump claimed victory, calling it a "BIG 'R' win with runoff in Georgia" on Twitter and citing his own contributions.

Read More