The widow of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has announced she will run for his seat in the House.
Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings said Monday that she is still grieving the loss of her husband but is determined to press forward by running for Congress.
“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,” she told the Baltimore Sun.
The Maryland Democrat Party Chairwoman also vowed to continue pushing back against the Trump administration’s policies.
“I am a fighter. I don’t shy away from the label,” she stated. “I will continue to press on and fight. I will fight the Trump administration, which is trying to undermine the social safety net.”
Cummings had represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional District since 1996. The 68-year-old died of health complications October 17.
Monday, Rockeymoore Cummings told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that in the months leading up to her husband’s death, he told her, “I really do think you should take this seat”:
“He would expect it of me, and I’m going to continue the fight,” she concluded.
However, Rockeymoore Cummings is not the only one who wants to take her late husband’s place in Congress.
“As of Monday, three Republicans and eight Democrats had officially filed for the special election, which is scheduled for April 28. The winner will complete Cumming’s term, which ends in January 2021. The deadline to file is Nov. 20,” according to Breitbart News.
Rockeymoore Cummings’ campaign website states that she has “devoted her life’s work to honoring the sacrifices of the past by pushing for a more equal and inclusive future that expands opportunities for all.”
The site continues:
Throughout her life, Maya’s driving principle has been to create a more equal and inclusive society for everyone. She has devoted her career to closing racial, socioeconomic, and gender disparities to create opportunities for every single American. She believes the future of our country belongs to everyone, and in Congress she’ll fight every day to make that a reality.
Rockeymoore Cummings, whose mother died of breast cancer in 2015 and whose sister was diagnosed with the disease in 2018, said she is scheduled to have a preventative double mastectomy Friday.
She told the Sun the procedure will keep her off the campaign trail for at least four weeks.
“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 concluded.