NPR’s Claudia Grisales interviews Representative Jamie Raskin at her home in Takoma Park, Md. on June 12, 2023.
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NPR’s Claudia Grisales interviews Representative Jamie Raskin at her home in Takoma Park, Md. on June 12, 2023.
Catie Dull/NPR
Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee who quickly rose to the top of the House of Representatives, said Friday night he decided to launch his re-election campaign to serving a fifth term as a member of Congress.
Raskin reported on a campaign statement was released on Friday night. The move would also change the competitive race to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Ben Cardin.
“At this point, I believe the best way for me to make the biggest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is: running for re-election to the House in Maryland’s extraordinary 8th District, ” Raskin said.
Raskin used to consider a race for the United States Senate Later in remission after active cancer treatment.
“I wrote a speech announcing my reelection campaign to the House of Representatives, I wrote a speech announcing my candidacy for the Senate,” said Raskin. told NPR last month. “I find my situation best through the writing process.”
Raskin was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 to represent Maryland’s 8th congressional district. He taught constitutional law at American University for over 25 years.
In Parliament, he named himself top restaurant manager in the second impeachment trial of former President Trump. He then served as a member of the House Select board on January 6 before becoming a ranked member of House Oversight.
That means he is one of the core groups of Democrats defending President Biden and his administration against Republican investigation. It is a job that is expected to be in higher demand when The House GOP has ramped up its investigation of Biden, his administration and Democrats since Trump’s historic federal indictment.
“We’re still in the fight of our lives,” Raskin told NPR in a recent interview. “Donald Trump still has a lot of secrets and we are fighting to protect democracy and the rule of law.”
At the same time, Raskin was in another battle of his life: battling diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a serious but curable form of cancer.
So when Cardin said in May he will not run for re-election, Raskin is still dealing with the effects of chemotherapy, undergoing six rounds of treatment since he diagnosis December 2022.
Early, Montgomery County Councilmember Will JawandoMaryland Congressmen David Trone and Angela Alsobrooks, an official of Prince George County, Md., are among Democrats launch campaigns for the Senate to fill Cardin’s seat.
Raskin faced a challenge in connecting his more progressive Democratic stance with moderate and Republican voters statewide in Maryland. He also knows he will give up a lot of base in the House if he leaves his seat vacant.
“I’ve had friends on Capitol Hill tell me it would be crazy to think about leaving the House, because I won the election to be the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.” and build new relationships with subordinates and staff members, Raskin recently told NPR. “And they can’t imagine why I would trade that for a chance in the Senate.”
At the end of April, Raskin received notice from his medical team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and nearby Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center that his condition was in remission, with a 90% prognosis of no Occur again periodically.
