Elijah Cummings’s widow ‘thinking carefully’ about running for his old seat

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), said Thursday that she is “thinking carefully” about running for her husband’s longtime congressional seat.

“I love Baltimore City, the counties of the 7th Congressional District, and the state of Maryland,” Rockeymoore Cummings told The Washington Post in a text message. “I’m deeply committed to public service and I’m honored by the widespread encouragement I’ve received to continue Elijah’s amazing legacy.

“As I mourn the loss of my husband, I’m thinking carefully about the future and will make an announcement very soon,” she added.

Rockeymoore Cummings, who currently serves as the chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, launched a gubernatorial bid in 2017 but later dropped out of the race due to her husband’s health problems, at the time citing “personal considerations.”{mosads}

A special election to choose the late congressman’s successor will be held in April, and several state officials — including House of Delegates Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D), Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Del. Nick J. Mosby (D) — are considering candidacies or have already voiced an intention to run, The Post reports.

Candidates have until Nov. 20 to formally file their bid for the seat, which Cummings held for 23 years before his death on Oct. 17.

Rockeymoore Cummings praised her late husband for his service to his district, saying during his funeral last week that “what Congressman Chairman Cummings did was not easy.”

“And it got infinitely more difficult in the last months of his life, when he sustained personal attacks and attacks on his beloved city,” she said in an impassioned eulogy during the Baltimore service. “And while he carried himself with grace and dignity in all public forums, it hurt him.”