Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas has started pitching fellow Democrats on a run for the party’s top Oversight Committee position, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Crockett’s entreaties — playing out in phone calls, text messages and floor conversations — mark the beginning of a contested race to succeed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) as Oversight’s ranking member. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts is also seeking the job, though Connolly — who announced plans to step aside after suffering a recurrence of esophageal cancer — has not yet formally done so.
Crockett has told other lawmakers that she’s “made for the moment,” the people said, an apparent reference to the desire among Democratic voters for more forceful resistance to President Donald Trump.
She told POLITICO in a text message that, while there isn’t a vacancy, “knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.”
She added, “I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m not interested in leading our investigative body while also communicating & educating the country on our findings.”
Semafor first reported that Crockett intended to seek the top Oversight post.
Crockett could be part of a crowded field of younger progressive Democrats who seek the job, including Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Ro Khanna of California and Maxwell Frost of Florida.
But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York could clear the field if she chooses to run. She lost to Connolly when she ran for the Oversight job last year and has since said she’s “weighing” a bid to run.
