Campaigning for Democrats and a committee gavel, Raskin seeks to flip the House with new battles ahead

Deep-blue Maryland has been a stronghold for Democrats in general elections for decades. But with a popular former Republican governor running for an open Senate seat and eight House races, the Old Line State could spring a few surprises this November. In this series, Old Line, New Battles: Maryland feels the primary pinch, the Washington Examiner will look at the key figures and important issues six months until Election Day. Part three will focus on Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) efforts to help Democrats flip the House as he seeks the coveted House Oversight Committee chairmanship.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is helping elect Democrats hundreds of miles from his home district with hopes of becoming chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress.

Raskin, who represents a safe seat in the blue suburbs of Washington, D.C., has campaigned in 17 states this cycle, warning voters of the “threat” posed by former President Donald Trump, who will compete against President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

The thrust of his campaign swing has been electing the president to a second term. He’s acted as a surrogate for Biden everywhere from Arizona to New Hampshire. But Raskin also has his sights on a Democratic majority in the House, and the Oversight Committee gavel that would come with it.

Raskin has volunteered his time for Democrats running in pivotal House races, among them Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) and Will Rollins in California, echoing the same message on “MAGA extremism” that, alongside abortion access, forms the basis of Democrats’ 2024 election pitch.

“We need to defend American democracy against a really serious threat,” Raskin told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “This is unlike any situation we’ve been in before in our lifetimes. I mean, it’s even worse than it was in 2016 because Trump is now openly discussing an authoritarian program.”

If the former president returns to office, he said, “it would be a moment of high danger for constitutional democracy and freedom.”

Raskin is a natural messenger for the Democrats. As a former constitutional law professor, he was tapped to lead Trump’s second impeachment. He also served on the Jan. 6 committee after the Capitol riot.

He’s developed a reputation for his wonkishness, and to Democrats, he’s a friendly face. But Raskin, who entered Congress in 2017, has continued to raise his profile as an attack dog on the Oversight Committee, where he’s traded barbs with Republicans pursuing a since-stalled-out impeachment inquiry into Biden.

Raskin acknowledges his desire to run the committee should Democrats win back the majority. Last year, he cited it as one reason he decided not to vie for retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-MD) seat in Maryland.

Instead, he endorsed Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive competing against Rep. David Trone (D-MD), a wealthy liquor store magnate, in Tuesday’s Senate primary.

“That’s obviously part of it,” Raskin said of his campaigning. He became the ranking Democrat on the panel after the midterm elections, beating out a more senior lawmaker for the post.

But Raskin also framed his decision as a matter of practical impact. His time and efforts were best spent, he argued last year, raising “millions of dollars and everyone’s spirit” on behalf of his colleagues in Congress.

The campaign appearances are not his only contribution to House races. He partners with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to match high school and college students with dozens of campaigns, in effect creating a pipeline for door-knockers and other temporary staff.

The program, dubbed the Democracy Summer project, distributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of House Democrats, including many front-line members, so they can staff up their ground game and protect their seats.

Raskin’s own primary, in the wealthy enclave of Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, will be uneventful on Tuesday. He won with 94% of the vote in 2022.

But House Democrats’ prospects of retaking the House later this year are far less certain. Months of legal battles over redistricting largely came out a wash for each party, while the two dozen or so districts that will decide control of the chamber are almost evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.

Raskin, for his part, said he was “cautiously optimistic” on his party’s chances, noting the “great response” he’s seen from voters on the campaign trail.

“The Democrats are revved up,” he said.

But he simultaneously alluded to “mystery factors” that could dash their hopes come November.

House Democrats used the threat of “MAGA extremism” to good effect in the midterm elections, all but canceling what was supposed to be a blowout year for Republicans. The GOP currently controls a one-seat House majority.

The same can be said for the topic of abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

However, Democrats are facing political headwinds on the economy and a crisis at the southern border. Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza has also dampened enthusiasm from the party’s left flank.

“All we can do is go and campaign our hearts out,” Raskin said.

Raskin would have an even bigger platform to advance the Democrats’ agenda should they retake the majority. The Oversight Committee, the main investigatory body in the House, has been used by Republicans to pummel Biden on everything from the Afghanistan withdrawal to allegations of influence peddling by his family.

It would conceivably be turned toward Trump should roles be reversed next year, with a Democratic-led House and Republican control of the White House.

“I want the Oversight Committee to be able to conduct hearings that basically explain to the country why we’re fighting for the things we’re fighting for,” Raskin said.

Raskin, who has overcome two bouts of cancer, is not the only Democrat whose star has risen in the age of Trump. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead manager for his first impeachment, earned the loathing of Republicans for fanning theories of Russian collusion in the 2016 election.

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Schiff is now favored to win a Senate seat in deep-blue California on the strength of his anti-Trump credentials.

Meanwhile, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), a fellow member of the Jan. 6 committee, was elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, the No. 3 leadership post, at the start of the current Congress.