Widow Of Rep. Elijah Cummings To Run For His Seat: Report

BALTIMORE, MD — The widow of the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings announced Monday that she will run for his seat in Congress, according to media reports. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, 48, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, told the Baltimore Sun that she is "going to run this race and I’m going to run it hard, as if he’s still right here by my side.”

Cummings died of cancer on Oct. 17 at the age of 68. First elected in 1996, he served the 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes the city of Baltimore, most of Howard County and part of Baltimore County.

Rockeymoore Cummings said she will enter a special Feb. 4 primary for the 7th District seat. The special election for the House seat is scheduled for April 28, the same day as a regular primary for all of Maryland’s House seats, the Sun reported.

Other Democrats entering the race include state Del. Talmadge Branch and Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and former president of the NAACP, the Sun reported. In addition, former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is considering a run.

The winner of the election will fill the rest of Cummings' term in Congress, through January 2021.

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