Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) decision not to run for the open US Senate seat in Maryland indicates that Democrats are confident in taking back the House majority.
Rep. Raskin announced his decision to run for reelection in a statement:
Where can I best serve in this momentous nationwide struggle to defend constitutional democracy and national progress? This is the question I have faced as I consider how best to advance the interests and values of our beloved Maryland while working to safeguard our future as a democratic nation.
The times have found us, as Tom Paine said, and there is no escaping the responsibility we have in office now not just to the specific people and communities we represent but to the entire country.
At this moment, I believe the best way for me to make the greatest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is this: to run for reelection to the House of Representatives in Maryland’s extraordinary 8th District; and to mobilize thousands of Democracy Summer Fellows and raise millions of dollars and everyone’s spirit to fortify and build up Democratic majorities in the House and Senate; and to go anywhere in America where President Biden, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Americans ask me to go to campaign for a runaway victory for the party of democracy, freedom, justice and progress; and to become the Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in a Democratic Congress, working to use our resources to guarantee the rights and freedoms of the people, to secure the integrity of every branch of government; to expose and root out corruption, waste and violation of the Constitution and our ethics laws; and to mentor and support the remarkable junior Members I have worked to assemble on our Committee over this first Congress as our Ranking Member; and to spread constitutional literacy and understanding throughout America by teaching a nationwide on-line constitutional law class to anyone who wants to join me; and to build a Democratic Party that will not only defeat the kleptocrats and theocrats at home but the autocrats abroad, and will effectively confront the overarching challenges of our time.
Reading between the lines, Rep. Raskin determined that he could be more effective as the Chair of the House Oversight Committee than he could in a Senate where he would either be a member of a narrow majority or in the minority. If Raskin wasn’t confident that Democrats will take back the House in 2024, he might have made a different decision.
The confidence is widespread among House Democrats that the Republicans have been such a disaster in the majority, along with Trump being the likely Republican presidential nominee, that they will take back the House majority next year.
Raskin’s decision to stay in the House is a good omen for Democrats. Incumbent House Democrats aren’t heading for the exits. They are preparing to take back the majority, and if they do, they will have Rep. Raskin in a powerful investigative position.