The Democratic powerhouse Representative Elijah Cummmings died just one month ago. He was so devoted to representing not only his constituents in Baltimore, Maryland but all Americans that he was signing subpoenas for the impeachment hearings from his deathbed. Now that he is gone, who will pick up his mantel?
Remarkablly, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings decided to break through her grief to step into her husband’s shoes. His widow resigned as chair of Maryland’s Democratic Party and announced her run for Representative Cummings’ seat in Congress. Her husband suffered from long-standing health issues before dying when he was only 68-years-old.
He was the chair of the Oversight Committee, which basically oversees all other committees and the Executive Branch. Rockeymoore Cummings said that she and her husband had conversations about this possibility beginning six months ago. NPR reported that she said:
‘I’ve been on this path for fighting for the soul of our democracy, for fighting for health care, education, for a better America for all. And so he wanted me to continue this fight, and I’m going to continue this fight and run the race and, prayerfully, win.’
‘BREAKING: Maya Rockeymoore Cummings will run for her husband Elijah’s congressional seat.’
And here is the long look at the impeachment hearings scheduled for the coming days: pic.twitter.com/lKAnHyJ7q0
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) November 13, 2019
In fact, she announced just as the televised impeachment hearings have begun. The acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent will testify before the House Wednesday.
Later this week, Rockeymoore Cummings will enter a hospital for her preventive double mastectomy. Her mother died of breast cancer in 2015, and her sister was also diagnosed with it in 2018. The representative’s widow said she thought that she would be away from her campaign for up to 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.’
The special election primary for Cummings’ seat will be February 4, 2020, and the general election was scheduled for February 28th. His term goes until January 20201.
She ran for Maryland governor until she left the campaign in early 2018 due to personal reasons. Local news indicated that she suspended her campaign due to Cummings’ illness.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
