Jan Schakowsky is in a race for the number 4 spot on the House Dems side in DC. Here’s what I’ve gathered on the race. Joe Crowley from NY-7 is the primary opponent and according to the The Hill’s article is close with 32 public supporters compared to 38 supporters for Schakowsky on the day before publication. He released a few more names and probably is just in the lead right now, though no one is reporting it so I can’t give you a hard count. John Larson, CT-1 , is the other guy in the race, but hasn’t released names and may well pull out. Where his supporters will go is important to the outcome.
The key liability for Crowley appears to be his support for the bankruptcy bill.
Schakowsky, as I’ve discussed before, has strained relations with some in the Illinois Party, but is relatively popular in DC amongst Democrats. She’s raised a ton of cash for DCCC and is close to Pelosi.
I know there was some hope she’d take over DCCC back when Matsui was in charge, but Rahm’s high profile and aggressiveness was the more natural fit from what I understand.
My sense, and it isn’t infallible, is that DC Democrats are looking for aggressiveness and in terms of policy issues that are up for discussion, she probably fits better in the caucus right now. On the flip side, Crowley has some help in having a larger NY Dem delegation.