The four House Democrats vying for the top perch on the Oversight Committee will be trolling for endorsements this week.
Today is the biggest day. Candidates are invited to make their pitch to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition.
The Congressional Black Caucus lunch is on Wednesday. The Democratic Women’s Caucus also meets Wednesday. Both will hear from the candidates.
The CHC is the most likely to offer an endorsement — only one Hispanic member, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), is running for the post — and that will likely come quickly after the meeting. The CPC has three members running, and the New Dems have none.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who chairs the CPC, said he’ll moderate a forum where all candidates will be asked the same questions. Then the CPC will decide if it wants to weigh in.
“We endorsed last time,” Casar said. “But of course, it’s a different race with different candidates and multiple CPC members.”
These forums will mark the start of the endorsement game. Even if the caucuses themselves don’t endorse, leading members may once they’ve had a chance to evaluate the candidates. This is especially true for the CBC, which has two members running: Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.).
The June 24 election will be a big moment for House Democrats. The caucus continues to grapple with a party base that wants generational change and a more combative response to President Donald Trump. The member they pick for Oversight will help spearhead that effort.
Crockett and Garcia are in their 40s. Mfume and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) are in their 70s. Crockett has made pushing for a Trump impeachment inquiry part of her pitch.
Garcia is someone to watch. The California Democrat has a strong path if he locks up enough of the CHC and his home state’s delegation.
Democratic leadership, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, has remained silent about who they want to see in the job.
“A number of people have asked me — they’re sort of waiting to see if there’s a signal from Hakeem and Katherine,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a member of the Oversight committee. “They’re all not just careful politicians, but don’t want to be seen putting their finger on the scale.”
