Make no mistake: The race to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee has begun.
It’s just that the candidates can’t be too open about it.
After Rep. Gerry Connolly — the current top Democrat on the committee — announced he would step back from the role in light of his esophageal cancer returning, Democrats on the Oversight panel have begun jockeying for the job. Delicately. Quietly. In the shadows.
Running for the job too aggressively while Connolly battles a serious diagnosis, after all, could be seen as unseemly.
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Democratic leadership has made it clear there is no current vacancy for the top spot, but multiple Democrats are now positioning themselves to make a run at the role if it does eventually become available.
Much of the shadow campaign is due to who isn’t running: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez came in second to Connolly last December during an initial contest for the ranking member job, and she was widely considered the favorite to take the reins now. But after she said Monday night that she wouldn’t run, the race opened up to a wider field of Democrats.
Second-term Rep. Robert Garcia is eyeing a run, according to a source familiar with his plans. Rep. Jasmine Crockett told NOTUS she was interested in running. Rep. Ro Khanna is also considering a bid, telling NOTUS on Tuesday that he remained “undecided.” And Rep. Stephen Lynch, who has taken over interim ranking duties on the committee, now also plans to seek the position when Connolly steps down. (Lynch, who’s been in office since 2001, already has Connolly’s endorsement.)
The Oversight Committee is at the frontlines of the messaging battle between Republicans and Democrats, making it a popular panel for attention-grabbing lawmakers who are comfortable generating headlines. Last Congress, under then-ranking member Jamie Raskin’s leadership, Democrats regularly manufactured viral moments with their eye-popping tactics, like Crockett’s “bleach blonde bad built butch body” barb at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Garcia using the phrase “dick pics” and Rep. Jared Moskowitz wearing a Putin mask.
“The battleground is the Oversight Committee,” freshman committee member Lateefah Simon told NOTUS. “It is the heart and soul, really, of the space where we fight for our space, where we lift up the hypocrisy.”
Given that high-profile role, being the top Democrat on Oversight — during a time of unified Republican control of government — is no matter of small importance. And Democrats are setting themselves up for yet another intergenerational battle, much like the one from December when 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez narrowly lost to the 75-year-old Connolly.
Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Monday that she expected Democratic caucus leadership would prioritize seniority, which discouraged her from pursuing the role.
”It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, and so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” she told reporters.
It’s true that many House Democrats have stuck to publicly lauding seniority, with former Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer telling Axios last week, “I have a preference for seniority, assuming ability, and I think Lynch is surely able.”
Still, Crockett — who is currently the committee’s vice ranking member — told NOTUS last week she would seek the role when there is a vacancy. She doubled down Tuesday, telling NOTUS she was “still pushing forward.”
Garcia is also privately seeking the role, making calls to members about a potential run, according to the source familiar with his plans. However, Garcia has publicly demurred when asked about his interest, telling Politico on Tuesday that, “Right now, there’s, like, no election, and so I think those of us on the Oversight Committee are just focused on Gerry’s health.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Maxwell Frost had also been rumored to be considering a run, though he told reporters Tuesday that he would not pursue the role.
“I think [Ocasio-Cortez] is right that there are still barriers to keeping young people running for these sort of positions,” Frost, who is 28, told reporters. “That’s part of my calculation in not running as well. But I think little by little we’re making progress as well.”
With Ocasio-Cortez now officially out of the race, some members of the Oversight panel who were enthusiastic about her potential candidacy are now weighing who they should support. The committee is stocked with several progressives and freshman members who have been vocal about the need to elevate younger, more energetic voices within the party.
Rep. Emily Randall, for example, told NOTUS she would consider supporting either Crockett or Garcia, saying there is “a lot of bold leadership” on the panel.
Simon, the freshman member, said she thinks both Crockett and Garcia would make “fantastic” ranking members.
“I do believe we need amazing next-generation leadership on this battleground,” she said.
But if Ocasio-Cortez is right, seniority will win out again, leaving Lynch in the position. If she’s wrong, however, and there’s a clear desire for a higher-profile Democrat to take the job, Ocasio-Cortez could always try to get in the race, one Democratic member theorized to NOTUS.
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Riley Rogerson and Daniella Diaz are reporters at NOTUS.
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