Race heats up to replace Connolly on powerful Oversight panel 

The race to become the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee is heating up — and getting crowded.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) this week threw her hat into the ring to replace the late-Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who died last month of esophageal cancer, making her the fourth member of the committee — and the second member of the Congressional Black Caucus — to vie for the seat.

She joins Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who all announced their bids last week.

Not only is the list unusually long for such a race, but it features two veteran septuagenarians and two congressional newcomers who are decades younger — setting the stage for another tense debate over the seniority system Democrats have favored for generations, but has come