Maya Rockeymoore Cummings Is Running for Her Late Husband's U.S. House Seat
On Ocotober 11, political consultant Maya Rockeymoore Cummings announced she's running for Congress.
She's hoping to take over the U.S. House seat of her beloved late husband, Elijah Cummings.
"I am, of course, devastated at the loss of my spouse, but his spirit is with me,” she said.
Nearly one month after her husband, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), died at the age of 68 from longstanding health issues, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings is stepping up and running to take over his congressional seat.
She officially announced the news on November 11 during the Rachel Maddow Show, with an additional interview with The Baltimore Sun.
"I am, of course, devastated at the loss of my spouse, but his spirit is with me,” Rockeymoore Cummings, 48, said. “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.”
There are currently six Democrats and three Republicans vying for the position—which represents the state's 7th District—with the filing deadline falling on November 20. Democratic primaries take place on February 4.
Here's what to know about her ahead of the election.
BREAKING: Maya Rockeymoore Cummings will run for her husband Elijah's congressional seat. pic.twitter.com/6WtInIwEDM
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) November 12, 2019
She and the congressman were married for 11 years.
@repcummings #memories #elijahcummings #restinpower #beloved
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Oct 19, 2019 at 3:28am PDT
According to her new campaign website, Rockeymoore Cummings and the late Rep. Cummings (who she calls "the love of her life") wed in 2008 after meeting each other on Capitol Hill in the 1990s.
"He felt very deeply," she said at his October 25 funeral. "He was very empathetic. It was one of his greatest gifts. And it was one of the sources of his ability to be a public servant and a man of the people. So with that, to have the week’s activities basically be laid out in such a glorious way, to be a tribute to the great man that he was, to the great legacy that he left—to be the first African American congressman to ever lie in state in the U.S. Capitol."
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Nov 2, 2019 at 12:44pm PDT
She and the congressman never had kids of their own, but Rep. Cummings had three children from previous relationships.
Rockeymoore Cummings was the Chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic party.
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Nov 3, 2019 at 2:52am PST
Her announcement is nowhere near her first foray into politics. In December 2018, Rockeymoore Cummings was elected to lead the state's Democratic party, hoping that her leadership would spur the appointment of a liberal governor in four years' time. (Current governor, Republican Larry Hogan, dominated elections last year).
"We’re going to build an infrastructure that will help Democrats win the future," she told The Baltimore Sun. "It’s important that Maryland families are protected and their well-being expanded. I happen to believe Democratic policies are an important part of assuring that."
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Nov 2, 2019 at 12:49pm PDT
However, in light of the announcement of her congressional run, she stepped down from the post on October 11. Rockeymoore Cummings has also served as the chief of staff for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) and was the vice president of research and programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She's also earned her master's and PhD in political science from Purdue University.
Rockeymore Cummings ran for state governor in 2017.
The political consultant announced her bid for Maryland governor in October 2017. She was running with a focus on "protecting health care for Marylanders from Republican efforts in Washington to repeal the Affordable Care Act and overhaul the nation’s health care system," according to her website. But unfortunately, she had to drop out of the race three months later to help her husband recover from health issues.
She's undergoing a preventative double mastectomy later this month.
Rockeymore Cummings told The Baltimore Sun that she will be undergoing the procedure—a surgical removal of both breasts, according to the American Cancer Society—on November 15. Her mother died from the disease, while her sister was diagnosed in 2018. The surgery was scheduled before her husband's death.
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Oct 9, 2019 at 9:38am PDT
"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,” she told the newspaper. “It’s going to be a sprint election."
She founded her own consulting firm.
A post shared by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (@rockeymoorecummings) on Oct 8, 2019 at 5:13pm PDT
In 2005, she started Global Policy Solutions, a D.C.-based policy consulting firm. According to its website, the company specializes in "deploying strategies that empower marginalized people and communities while improving the environments in which they live."
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