Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has set a Feb. 4 special election primary to replace the late Elijah E. Cummings in the 7th District.
Hogan issued the proclamation Monday after the late congressman, who died earlier this month at the age of 68, was memorialized on Capitol Hill and in Baltimore last week.
In a solid Democratic district that Hillary Clinton carried by 53 points in 2016, the most competitive race in the Baltimore-area district will be the primary. The general election to fill the remainder of Cummings’ term will be April 28, which is the same day as Maryland’s regularly scheduled 2020 primaries. Another general election for a two-year term would take place in November.
All eyes will be on Maryland Democratic Party chairwoman Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the wife of the late congressman, to see if she runs for the nomination. If she does, she could clear the field. Rockeymoore Cummings briefly ran for governor last cycle and was elected state party chair in December.
Plenty of others will be interested if Rockeymoore Cummings passes on the race. The filing deadline for candidates is Nov. 20.
Cummings himself came to Congress out of a crowded Democratic special election primary. He defeated 26 other Democrats in a 1996 special election to replace Kweisi Mfume, who had resigned to become president of the NAACP. Cummings won with more than 37 percent of the vote.
