The race for chairman of the Democratic National Committee has suddenly narrowed to a two-man contest — including South Carolinian Donnie Fowler.

Howard Dean, a 2004 presidential candidate and former Vermont governor, remains the front-runner. On Monday, his candidacy got a boost when the Association of State Democratic Chairs endorsed him for the job — a move that put him in a strong position to win the chairmanship.

Dean won 56 votes from the state chairs, and Fowler won 21 during a national conference call.

The executive committee of the state chairs had endorsed Fowler on Sunday, but the full committee ignored the recommendation and backed Dean.

“We gave him a punch yesterday, and he gave me a counterpunch today,” Fowler said. “The other candidates were unable to get in the ring.”

Fowler, 37, has worked on campaigns in more than a dozen states and is the son of former DNC chairman Donald Fowler, a Columbia-based consultant. He ran U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in Michigan, one of 20 states Kerry won.

Five other candidates got fewer than 10 votes each from the state party chairs Monday.

“Donnie knocked out the other candidates,” said Carol Khare, second vice chairwoman of the S.C. Democratic Party and co-chair of the DNC Rules Committee.

Fowler says the race for party chairman is far from over. “Two-thirds of the vote is still out there.”

Dean has about 100 endorsements of DNC members, and Fowler has 50. Neither is close to a majority of the 447 members needed to win the post in a Feb. 12 DNC election.

“It’s pretty good to be one of the two finalists, especially against a guy who was a leading contender for president and who had one of the largest grass-roots movements in the country,” Fowler said.

Some in the party have worried about Dean, saying he might be too liberal, too outspoken and too blunt to provide effective leadership.

Fowler said he is not running against Dean. “I’m running for the chairmanship of the Democratic Party. Dean just happens to be my opponent.”

Organized labor is considering whether to back a candidate and could revitalize the race by choosing one of Dean’s opponents. Its leaders meet in Washington today.

Reach Bandy at (803) 771-8648 or lbandy@thestate.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.