U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin said Friday he will not run next year for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Democrat Ben Cardin.
“At this moment, I believe the best way for me to make the greatest difference in American politics in 2024 and beyond is this: to run for reelection to the House of Representatives in Maryland’s extraordinary 8th District,” the congressman said in a written statement.
Raskin, 60, a former constitutional law professor with a national profile, is in his fourth term and is the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, which investigates government misconduct. He was prominent in a House committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Among the candidates in the race are U.S. Rep. David Trone, 67, who represents Frederick County and Western Maryland; Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, 52; and Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando, 40.
Raskin represents the 8th Congressional District in Congress, including much of the Washington suburbs located within Montgomery County, and lives in Takoma Park.
Raskin recently completed chemotherapy treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and said “the doctors are extremely optimistic.”
Cardin said on May 1 that he would not seek reelection, ending a nearly six-decade run in Maryland politics and creating a scramble to fill a rare vacancy in the closely divided Senate.
Trone, who is in his third term, has focused on criminal justice reform, combating fentanyl overdoses and improving access to mental health.
Alsobrooks, a former Prince George’s County state’s attorney, has emphasized her administration’s investment in communities she says “have been left behind.”
Jawando is a civil rights lawyer and author of a 2022 memoir, “My Seven Black Fathers,” chronicling his experiences with systematic racism and lessons learned from mentors.
Also running are peace activist Jerome Segal, 79, and anti-tax candidate Robin Ficker, 80, both of Montgomery County.
The term of Cardin, 79, ends in January 2025. The filing deadline is Feb. 9, 2024, for the May 14 primary.
