With former US Rep. Kweisi Mfume scoring a decisive win in the Democratic special election primary last week, three of his opponents have removed themselves from further competition. State Delegates Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore City) and Terri Hill (D-Baltimore/Howard Counties), along with college professor Michael Higginbotham all announced they will remove their names from the regular primary election to be decided April 23rd. Also, on that day, Mr. Mfume will easily win the special general election to fill the balance of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings’ (D-Baltimore) final term and would then take office in the succeeding days.
In the primary election, Ex-Rep. Mfume received 43% of the vote against 23 opponents. Dels. Hill and Branch received 7.4 and 1.1%, respectively, while Dr. Higginbotham garnered 4.5% of the Democratic vote. Though Iowa is getting virtually all of the electoral news coverage, the late Rep. Elijah Cummings’ (D-Baltimore) vacant US House seat was ostensibly filled last night as former Congressman Kweisi Mfume, who resigned from the House in 1996 to head the NAACP, easily won (43%) the special Democratic primary and will now advance to what will be a sure win in the special general election on April 28th.
Ironically, it was Mr. Cummings who replaced Mr. Mfume when the latter man left office in mid-term 24 years ago and now the tables turn after the late Congressman’s death. In a distant second place was the Congressman’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (17%), with state Senator Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) following (16%). The other 21 candidates on the Democratic ballot did not reach 5,000 votes apiece. As candidate filing was closing yesterday for the special election to replace the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore), state Delegate and physician Jay Jalisi (D-Owings Mills) became the 22nd Democrat who will battle for the nomination. It is now obvious that the Congressman’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, becoming a candidate did not dissuade others from filing. Also running are state Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore), former Congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, state House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore), and state Delegate and surgeon Terri Hill (D-Columbia).
Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D), who left office with poor ratings after the Baltimore riots, announced that she will not enter the special election to replace the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore).
Fifteen Democrats are declared special election candidates including the Congressman’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings. State Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore), state House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore), and former Congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume are the other leading candidates. The winner of the Democratic primary on February 4th will win the special general election scheduled for April 28th. The candidate filing deadline is November 20th. Despite soon undergoing a mastectomy procedure, now former Maryland Democratic Party chair Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, widow of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore), says she will become a candidate in the special election to succeed her husband. Already in the Democratic race are former Congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and state House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore) along with several minor candidates.
The Democratic primary will determine Mr. Cummings’ successor in what is a very safe seat for the party. The special election primary is scheduled for February 4th, with the special general concurrent with the regular state primary on April 28th. Former US Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who left the House in 1996 to become president of the NAACP and then returned to elective politics to run unsuccessfully for Senate in 2006, looks set to announce his candidacy for the special election to replace the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore). Ironically, Mr. Cummings was originally elected in the special congressional election to replace Mr. Mfume when the latter man resigned. The former Congressman could enter the special Democratic primary to be decided on February 4th as early as today. Already in the race is state House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore).
The Congressman’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings who chairs the Maryland Democratic Party, is a potential candidate and promises to make an announcement about her political plans soon. State Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) is another potential contender who will assuredly run if Ms. Cummings does not. In accordance with Maryland election law that requires the Governor to set the special election schedule within ten days of a vacancy occurring in the US House delegation, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced yesterday the voting schedule to replace the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore).
The candidate filing deadline in the state’s 7th Congressional District will be Nov. 20th. The partisan primary elections are scheduled for February 4th, while the special general is placed concurrently with the regular Maryland presidential and statewide primary election on April 28th. The key election will be the Democratic primary. That contest will assuredly determine Mr. Cummings’ successor in what is a safely Democratic seat. No one is yet coming forward to confirm interest in entering the special election to replace the late Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore) who passed away on Thursday, but speculation as to who might run is beginning.
No less than 14 people have been mentioned as potential candidates, but the big question is whether the Congressman’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings the current Maryland Democratic Party chair, will decide to run. Others being mentioned include former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, and no less than ten state legislators. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) must set the special election calendar on or before October 28th. House Oversight & Reform Committee chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), serving his 12th full term in office, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 68. Now, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has ten days to schedule a replacement special election to fill the vacancy. According to Maryland election law, the special primary must occur before the end of this year, with a general to follow within 65 days of the first vote. This means the entire cycle must be completed on or before March 5th.
We can expect a crowded Democratic primary to form as future candidates will battle to become Mr. Cummings’ successor. With a 68-16% party registration advantage, the 7th District will remain in Democratic hands. The Maryland vacancy now becomes the 26th open seat during the current election cycle, including the three vacancies: MD-7 (Cummings), NY-27 (Chris Collins), and WI-7 (Sean Duffy). Republicans currently hold 19 of the open seats, and Democrats now up to seven. Attorney and Bronze Star winner Sheila Bryant, a Marine Corps veteran, announced that she will oppose Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Bowie) in next year’s April 28th Democratic primary.
Ms. Bryant begins by attacking Rep. Brown for what she claims is his weak opposition to President Trump and wanting to use the House district as a stepping stone for a 2022 gubernatorial run. In 2014, Mr. Brown lost to current Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the statewide race. He then was elected to the House two years later. The Congressman is favored for re-nomination, but, in today’s politics, all primary challenges must be taken seriously at least in the early phase. |
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