Several Oversight Democrats told the Washington Examiner they haven’t made up their minds about who they’ll support in the race.

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH), a member of the Oversight Committee, said she is still “undecided” but that her indecision “demonstrates the amazing bench of talent that we have.”

“So, it’s going to be a smoking race,” Brown quipped.

Reps. Emily Randall (D-WA), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), and Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) all said they are undecided, as well, with Ansari noting she has “calls to return” and Randall quipping there’s a “stack of letters on my desk to read.” 

The date for the ranking member race is June 24, giving members a considerable amount of time to hear from the candidates and weigh their private support or, at times, public endorsements. The Steering Committee will meet and make a recommendation on who its members believe should get the position, followed by a caucuswide vote. 

The caucus typically will vote in line with the steering panel, so it is imperative that the candidates garner support from not only their Oversight colleagues but other lawmakers, as well.

Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA), co-chairwoman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and a Steering Committee member, said she hasn’t had time to speak with the lawmakers and is pleased the caucus extended the race to later in June.

Trahan isn’t deterred by having to choose between a large pool of candidates, instead arguing it’s in the best interest of the caucus.

“I think competition is a good thing,” Trahan said. “It makes us better.” 

Hanging over the race is a larger issue Democrats are facing as the party deals with the ramifications of the 2024 election. Younger party members and candidates are demanding change within leadership and seeking to remove incumbents, claiming the establishment is too stuck in the status quo to properly oppose GOP control of Washington.

Elder members and longtime incumbents have pushed back against these claims, arguing that leaning heavily on seniority and experience is the best way to support the caucus’s leadership ranks.

One Oversight Democrat, granted anonymity to speak freely on the race, said they are not sure who they plan to vote for. But they do know what’s not factoring into their decision: seniority.

“I don’t think seniority should matter at all,” the Democrat said, adding that they think the priority should be selecting a ranking member who can do the job and also can message to independent and right-leaning voters — “not just the Democratic base.”

But elder members are eager to keep seniority in place.

One House Democrat said that while Democrats are hoping for someone “aggressive” with “creative energy,” they understand that some people are thinking “we need an experienced hand on the wheel.”

“I think sometimes people think of it as a false choice between a more senior member that is running on experience versus an emerging leader who has a ton of new ideas,” the member said. 

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he thinks seniority should always be considered heavily in leadership races. 

“What our practices have been, something that I support, is that one big factor that should be considered therein is an individual’s seniority and their ability to lead based upon that experience,” Meeks said. “That is, to me, a big factor — that can be overcome if individuals think that that person is not able to lead a committee, etc., as we’ve seen those exceptions.”

Another factor playing into the ranking member search is the ideology of the candidates. The party is locked in a never-ending battle between the two ideological factions that make up its ranks. More progressive members urge unmoderated changes in messaging and policy, while more centrist Democrats are encouraging the party to stay focused on kitchen-table issues.

One Oversight Democrat pointed to the fact that all of the candidates, except Lynch, are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“As someone who’s not in the Progressive Caucus, it’s something that I’m looking at: who can get past just their dark-blue district, and maybe even political leanings, and also help us appeal as a party to the broader electorate,” the Democrat said.

The race is also pitting two Congressional Black Caucus members, Mfume and Crockett, against each other.

Meeks himself has personal experience in a crowded race against a fellow Black Caucus colleague: He ran against Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) for vice chairman of the Democratic caucus in 2003. Another pair of CBC members, now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and former Rep. Barbara Lee, ran against each other for chair of the caucus.

“Once the process started, I pulled out of the race after the first votes, and I saw where Jim was, et cetera,” Meeks said. “So there was no animosity or anything of that nature in it.” 

“I think that the same thing when Hakeem and Barbara Lee — we went to dinner after the race, all of us, collectively just to talk about how we continue to work together to move forward,” Meeks added. “That’s the way it works. So it’s not a personal thing or anything of that nature. It’s individuals who want to give to the Democratic Party.”

Jeffries echoed Meeks, stating on Monday that the CBC will handle the fight between Crockett and Mfume “like a family.” 

At the end of last year, Democrats were faced with a challenge: Does the caucus pick the older, more established members to lead powerful committees, or do they pick someone with high energy, a strong media presence, and lots of potential to fight back against Republicans?

Crockett, in particular, is known for drawing headlines, though sometimes her comments have been inflammatory. 

For the most part, seniority takes precedence. Democrats selected Connolly over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) back in December. One exception was Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), who defeated incumbent Rep. David Scott (D-GA) to become the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee. 

House Democrats had privately and publicly expressed concerns about Connolly and Scott’s health, worried they’d be unable to handle the job of ranking member. When Connolly announced he was stepping down due to his cancer reemerging, some lawmakers told the Washington Examiner they wished there had been more conversations about whether Connolly was capable of leading the Oversight Committee before so quickly dismissing someone like Ocasio-Cortez.

Crockett and Garcia are 44 and 47, respectively, while Lynch and Mfume are 70 and 76, respectively. 

One Oversight Democrat said they think the party needs to “change the mentality around seniority” — especially after Ocasio-Cortez’s loss. The Democrat said it’s evident that “people outside of Congress want to see new blood, and that’s important, too,” when asked if age should play a factor in the race.

Caucus leadership, which typically opts to remain neutral in committee races, has dodged questions on whether age should play a role in selecting the next Oversight ranking member.

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But, leaders said, don’t rule out elder members just because of their age.

“Just because someone’s a senior member doesn’t mean they have less energy,” Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-CA) said. “One point of fact: Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi had and continues to have more energy than most human beings that I know.”