With the election to become the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat less than three weeks away, lines of support are starting to emerge between four candidates — but the coveted job as one of the party’s top attack dogs remains up for grabs.
“It’s wide open,” Rep. Kweisi Mfume told NOTUS.
Mfume, Robert Garcia, Jasmine Crockett and Stephen Lynch have all announced their candidacy to lead Democrats on Oversight, after the panel’s former ranking member, Rep. Gerry Connolly, died last month.
The quartet represents a diverse cross section of the caucus — two are septuagenarians with over a decade of experience, while two are in their second term. The Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus are all represented in the race. And the social media footprints range from fewer than 7,000 followers on X in Mfume’s case to over 227,000 followers in Crockett’s.
At a moment when the Democratic Party is still trying to find its footing in the opposition against President Donald Trump, the role of Oversight ranking member has taken on massive significance.
Practically, the winner of the caucus-wide election will navigate hearings, markups and other committee activities opposite Republican Oversight Chair James Comer, as he seeks to leverage the panel’s public-facing role to boost the Trump agenda in the media. But symbolically, the next top Democrat on Oversight could represent a path for the Trump 2.0 resistance within a party that’s spent months without a clear resistance roadmap.
Whether Democrats select a more senior, staid member like Lynch or Mfume, or choose a next-generation firebrand like Garcia or Crockett, it’s a test that candidates say the party cannot afford to fail.
But despite the importance of the race to replace Connolly, an obvious frontrunner hasn’t emerged.
The Congressional Black Caucus is uniquely positioned to play kingmaker. The group, which includes 62 of 212 House Democrats, has historically put a premium on seniority during leadership races, acknowledging that many in their ranks have accumulated long tenures representing safe blue districts. A system that values time logged on Capitol Hill has helped the CBC amass power.
“A big factor that should be considered therein is individuals’ seniority and their ability to lead based upon that experience,” Rep. Gregory Meeks told NOTUS. “That is, to me, a big factor.”
If seniority and experience remains truly a big factor in the CBC, Mfume is likely an attractive candidate. The Maryland Democrat served in Congress for a decade in the 1990s before leaving to run the NAACP, returning to the House in 2020. Mfume returned to Congress in 2020, where he has kept a relatively low public profile.
“He’s got very deep experience, and he’s been on the committee for a very long time,” his fellow Marylander, Rep. Glenn Ivey — who endorsed Mfume — told NOTUS.
Mfume formally announced his candidacy at a CBC meeting Wednesday, and if he were to receive the CBC’s endorsement — if the group endorses — he’d likely have enough support to survive an early ballot. But Mfume is not the only CBC candidate running.
Crockett, the current Oversight vice chair, is also courting support from the CBC.
“I’m Black, but I’m American, and this country needs me right now,” Crockett told reporters. “So regardless of that, does it potentially make my pathway more complicated? Like, I’d have to be honest with myself and say, yeah, it could definitely complicate my path.”
“I’m not pigeon-holed into just Black folk,” Crockett said. “And so, for me, it’s about putting myself forward and giving the caucus an opportunity to take advantage of what it is that I’m trying to offer, which I’m trying to offer them an injection of hope for our base constituency that right now doesn’t seem to be the most hopeful.”
But the CBC and other large caucuses won’t be the only factors in deciding the race. After all, in December, one of the House’s largest caucuses, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, endorsed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over Connolly. She lost anyway.
In fact, Mfume told NOTUS he considers himself an “underdog” in the election, given he’s less senior than Lynch — who has served in Congress since 2001 and repeatedly campaigned to be the top Democrat on Oversight.
“You know, God bless us underdogs,” Mfume said. “We run from behind, and we run real hard.”
Lynch has stepped in as interim ranking member since Connolly stepped aside after a cancer diagnosis in April. In his weeks running the panel, he has drawn some headlines, including penning a letter Wednesday asking Trump what he knew about Elon Musk’s possible drug use while working in the White House.
But there’s also a sense among some Democrats that Lynch is not as much of a showman as the party needs to hit back against the president. After all, the Oversight Committee is where Crockett coined the phrase “bleach blonde, bad built, butch body” and Garcia went viral for quoting a Real Housewife of Salt Lake City during a hearing.
That flare is one of the reasons, Rep. Don Beyer told NOTUS, he’s supporting and whipping for Garcia. Beyer pointed to Garcia’s experience as the former mayor of Long Beach, California, and as a current member of House Democratic leadership. But he emphasized Garcia’s communication style as a major plus.
“He is a tremendous communicator. I don’t see that with Steve,” Beyer said.
“Maybe Kweisi was back when he was at the NAACP, he was probably pretty good, but certainly, that’s not his niche right now,” Beyer continued. “Jasmine’s great, but Jasmine’s also sometimes flamboyant.”
(When asked for her response to Beyer’s characterization, Crockett told NOTUS: “Ultimately, the wins that I’ve been able to score by having kind of base support in the support of the people has been more so because they know that I am authentic in everything that I do.”)
Garcia himself was more diplomatic, telling NOTUS he considers each of the other candidates “leaders in the caucus,” adding that “this committee is really important to keep the administration accountable, but also for good government efficiency.”
A member of the New Democratic Coalition — a large, centrist bloc of House Democrats — who is supporting Garcia told NOTUS they are optimistic he can stitch together a winning coalition from various factions of the caucus.
“I just think he is a guy who is going to make it through that first ballot,” this member said. “There’s too many people who like and respect him, and then I think he’s gonna be someone that people settle on because he’s an effective communicator, because he has so much experience is gonna end up being the consensus candidate.”
But for now, plenty of members of the committee remain up for grabs — at least, publicly.
Freshman Rep. Emily Randall said she has four “Dear Colleague” letters on her desk in need of review. Rep. Ro Khanna, who briefly considered his own run, said he has great respect for Mfume after sitting next to him on the panel, but nodded to Garcia being a fellow Californian. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said she has “too many friends” on the committee to comment on any preferences.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam told NOTUS he is also undecided, but the freshman member of the panel made clear that his decision would have nothing to do with seniority.
“Age is not important at all. Old or young,” Subramanyam said. “I think the most important thing is, who’s gonna do the best job.”
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Riley Rogerson is a reporter at NOTUS.