CONCORD, N.H.  — New Hampshire Democrats weren’t accustomed to success or power when Ray Buckley was first elected to the Legislature in 1986.

But by the time he was elected chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party in 2007, he had successfully led Democrats’ efforts to retake the state Senate in 2006 for just the second time in decades. His party also won the House and the governorship. He has been party chairman since, helping turn New Hampshire from reliably Republican to a place where Democrats have withstood national GOP waves.

“For a long time, it was known as a political graveyard for Democrats,” said Paul Hodes, a Democratic former congressman from New Hampshire. “Ray has had a lot to do with turning that around.”

Buckley is now a long shot to lead the Democratic National Committee against Minnesota U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Sally Boynton Brown and South Carolina Party Chairman Jaime Harrison. Ellison and Perez are considered front-runners; DNC members vote in February.

Buckley promises to build up state parties, which he says have been forgotten by a DNC too focused on Washington. If elected, he would be the first openly gay person to serve as chair of a national party.

Buckley said he has never forgotten the 2000 election, when Democrat Al Gore lost the state to Republican George W. Bush. Winning New Hampshire would have handed Gore the presidency. A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won the state since.

“That’s what drives me to make sure that New Hampshire never again goes Republican,” he said in a recent interview.

Buckley, 57, was introduced to New Hampshire politics at age 8, when he went canvassing with a gubernatorial candidate. He asked his parents to register in different political parties so he could see all the mail. At age 12, he volunteered for Democrat Ed Muskie’s 1972 presidential campaign.