Elijah Cummings’ Widow Maya Rockeymoore Cummings To Run For His Seat In Congress ‘I’m Going To Run This Race As If He Was Still By My Side’

Elijah Cummings’ Widow Maya Rockeymoore Cummings To Run For His Seat In Congress ‘I’m Going To Run This Race As If He Was Still By My Side’

The wife of late congressman Elijah Cummings wants to fill his now vacant seat.

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings revealed the news Monday (Nov. 11), and said it’s her effort to continue his legacy.

“I am, of course, devastated at the loss of my spouse, but his spirit is with me. I’m going to run this race and I’m going to run it hard, as if he’s still right here by my side.”

Elijah served more than two decades in Congress before he died amid his fight with cancer on Oct. 17. At the time of his death, he sat on the 7th District seat, which covered portions of Baltimore and parts of Baltimore and Howard Counties.

Maya has worked as a public policy consultant and launched Global Policy Solutions, LLC in Washington. She also ran for governor of Maryland in 2018. She said that her next campaign for Elijah’s seat in Congress is one that he would have wanted.

“That was a discussion we had some months ago. In the end, he was conflicted about whether he should resign or stay in office. We thought there might be a turnaround. It didn’t happen.”

She launched her campaign Tuesday (Nov. 12) from her home office in Madison Park. She plans to continue fighting for the issues that were vital to her late husband such as the opioid crisis and President Donald Trump. She said she is

“fighting for the soul of our democracy.”

Meanwhile, she’s also preparing for her own health battle. She revealed that she’ll have a preventative double mastectomy Friday (Nov. 15), that could keep her off of the campaign trail for about a month. She decided to have the operation after her mother died from breast cancer in 2015. Her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018.

“I’m going to take the time I need to heal and do what I can behind the scenes to make sure my campaign is strong. It’s going to be a sprint election.”

She added that the surgery was another major life moment she and Elijah talked about before his passing.

Maya and the other candidates have until Nov. 20 to file for the special primary on Feb. 4. The special election is scheduled for April 28. whoever wins will complete Elijah’s term, which was set to end in January 2021. Candidates who want the seat after that have to run in the special and regular elections.

Are you here for Maya Rockeymoore Cummings filling Elijah Cummings’ seat? Tell us in the comments.

Authored by: Char