Inside the already chaotic fight to replace Gerry Connolly
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Rep. Gerry Connolly speaks at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on July 20, 2023. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Within hours of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) announcing he will step away as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, the camps began to form and the jockeying and sniping began.
Why it matters: The Oversight Committee is stacked with young, ambitious and high-profile progressives, many of whom would be eager to take over Connolly's extremely visible role under the right circumstances.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who lost to Connolly last year but no longer sits on the panel, is still deliberating on whether to run, multiple House Democrats close to her told Axios.
- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Connolly's vice ranking member, is making her interest in the role known and is privately shoring up support.
- Some are waiting to see how the field takes shape — particularly whether Ocasio-Cortez runs. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
Driving the news: Connolly, 75, said Wednesday that he will step down from his committee role "soon" after the return of his esophageal cancer.
- "The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress," he wrote.
State of play: In addition to Ocasio-Cortez and Crockett, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) have all been floated by colleagues as possible candidates.
- Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who will fill in for Connolly, has also been mentioned as a potential successor, though the 70-year-old moderate is seen as less palatable to the Democrats' grassroots.
- Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), like Lynch, has seniority over most other candidates, but he is expected to launch a bid for U.S. Senate.
What they're saying: "I'm the vice ranker, so when I took the role on, I was [and] still am willing to step in, in service to the caucus and the country, but conversations need to be had before any formal announcement can be made," Crockett told Axios.
- Khanna said in a statement that Connolly has "stepped back, not stepped aside. I'm praying for him and his family. I'm focused on that right now and our committee's work."
Between the lines: The big question on many Democrats' minds is whether Ocasio-Cortez, the former vice ranking member under Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), opts in.
- One of the most visible members of the House Democratic caucus, Ocasio-Cortez lost to the more senior Connolly last December in a 131 to 84 vote.
- After her loss, however, even colleagues who didn't support her said they expect her to make it into a leadership role in the near term.
- Her decision could shape the race: Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) is interested and has gotten calls urging him to run, but wants Ocasio-Cortez to seek the role and would "fully support" her if she does, according to a source familiar with his thinking.
Yes, but: Ocasio-Cortez failed to obtain a waiver to stay on Oversight while also joining the powerful Energy & Commerce Committee, an "exclusive" panel that she first sought to join as a freshman in 2019.
- House Democrats' Steering and Policy Committee — comprised of dozens of leadership loyalists — would have to vote to allow her to run for Connolly's position.
- The question of whether she would be allowed to serve on Energy & Commerce and lead Oversight simultaneously is another wrinkle, sources said.
What we're hearing: Some House Democrats on Oversight are already privately taking positions.
- "This might be a path for Ocasio-Cortez, given that it was a two-way race at the outset," said one. "I'd vote for her!"
- Another told Axios they're supporting Crockett: "We have a vice [ranking member] for a reason ... we talk a lot about respecting processes in the party, and that's where I am."
The bottom line: In the months since Connolly was elected, Democrats' grassroots base has exploded with anger at what they see as a lack of vigor among their party's establishment in Congress.
- Now, some lawmakers feel, is the time for House Democrats to show that they can adapt to those expectations.
