ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a congressman from the nation’s capital suburb, announced Friday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat that opens with the departure to the retirement of Senator Ben Cardin.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, now in his fourth term, had been weighing a bid for the rarely open Senate seat, but said in a statement late Friday that he would instead seek be re-elected to the House.
Raskin announced in April that he had completed chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a 90% prognosis without relapse and that his cancer was in remission. It was the second time Raskin had been diagnosed with cancer. He previously battled colorectal cancer in 2010.
Raskin, 60, has played a prominent role in recent years as House Democrats twice impeached then-President Donald Trump and investigated Trump’s role in the insurgency. January 6, 2021. He was the lead impeacher when the House impeached Trump a week after the attack.
So far, Rep. David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks have announced nominations in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat. Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando is also a candidate.