Representative Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) decision not to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Maryland signals the Democrats’ confidence in taking back the majority in the House.
Rep. Raskin announced his decision to run for re-election 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 been faced with as I consider how we can best advance the interests and values of our beloved Maryland as we work to secure our future as a democratic nation.
Times have caught up with us, as Tom Paine said, and we cannot escape the responsibility we now hold in office, not just to the specific people and communities we represent, but to the entire country.
Right now, I think this is the best way for me to make the biggest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond: run for reelection to the United States 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 spirits to strengthen and build 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 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, to use our resources to ensure the rights and freedoms of the people, to ensure the integrity of every branch of government; to expose and eradicate corruption, waste and violation of the Constitution and our ethical laws; and to guide and support the notable junior members whom I have gathered into our committee during this first Congress as our ranked member; and to spread constitutional literacy and understanding across America by providing a nationwide online constitutional law course to all who wish to join me; and to build a Democratic Party that will defeat not only the kleptocrats and theocrats at home, but also the autocrats abroad, and effectively meet the overarching challenges of our time.
Rep. Raskin read between the lines and determined that he could be more effective as chairman of the House Oversight Committee than in a Senate where he would be a member of a narrow majority or a minority. If Raskin wasn’t confident that the Democrats would take the House back in 2024, he might have made a different decision.
Confidence is widespread among House Democrats that the Republicans have been such a disaster in the majority, along with Trump as the likely Republican presidential nominee, that they will regain the majority in the House next year.
Raskin’s decision to remain in the House bodes well for Democrats. The incumbent Democrats in the House of Representatives are not headed for the exits. They’re preparing to take back the majority, and when they do, they’ll kill Rep. Raskin in a powerful investigative position.