Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) says he has yet to decide if he’ll run for retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) Senate seat in 2024 but is “seriously considering it.”
Cardin announced on May 1 that he would not be seeking reelection to a seat he’s held since 2007, leading to questions about whether Raskin, one of Maryland’s most prominent Democrats, would seek the seat.
“I’ve not decided,” Raskin, recovering from lymphoma, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on June 4. “I love the House of Representatives, I love the people I serve with, and I love being in the people’s house.”
On the other hand, Raskin noted that such openings rarely happen, with as long as 30 years passing before a seat could open up again.
“A lot of people have encouraged me to check it out because [there are] certain constitutional functions the Senate has that the House doesn’t have, like advise and consent, Supreme Court nominations, judicial confirmations—a lot of things that I’m interested in.
“So I’m seriously considering it, but I haven’t decided yet,” Raskin said.
Cardin’s impending retirement has rekindled GOP hopes to recruit Gov. Larry Hogan, a remarkably successful Republican in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican president since 1988, to run for the Republican ticket. Hogan has repeatedly rebuffed these efforts, which could put the Senate seat in play.
Raskin said that he hopes to decide whether to run for the seat by July 4.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, has already given his weighty backing to candidate Angela Alsobrooks for the seat.
“I would not run against anybody else,” Raskin said when asked about this endorsement. “It’s totally based on the experience I’ve had trying to defend our democracy and our freedom and the Bill of Rights against the Trump movement.”
In sum, Raskin said he sees “compelling reasons on both sides” in deciding whether to seek his party’s nomination for the seat.
Given Maryland’s deep blue leanings, it seems likely that any Democrat who wins the nomination will be poised to win the seat, short of a wildcard like Hogan entering the race.
But despite repeated efforts by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and others to get Hogan to run, he’s repeatedly said he doesn’t foresee a Senate bid.
Raskin came to prominence during the term of President Donald Trump for leading efforts to impeach the former president.
His consideration for a Senate bid comes in a season where Republicans seem poised to retake the Senate, with several key Democrat-held swing seats up for grabs. Most Republicans facing reelection bids, by contrast, hail from deep-red states.
