Representative Elijah Cummings’s Widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Will Run for His Congressional Seat

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the chair of Maryland’s Democratic Party and widow of the late representative Elijah Cummings, is running to fill his vacant congressional seat, NPR reports.

At an event in Baltimore’s Madison Park neighborhood on Tuesday morning, Rockeymoore Cummings formally announced her candidacy, telling the Baltimore Sun, “I am, of course, devastated at the loss of my spouse, but his spirit is with me. 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.” The public-policy consultant, who is 48, has chaired the Maryland Democratic Party since 2018 and founded the Washington consulting firm Global Policy Solutions LLC.

Elijah Cummings passed away in October at the age of 68 after a battle with cancer. He left behind a long legacy of speaking truth to power, whether he was fighting for voting rights or taking on Donald Trump.

But before Rockeymoore Cummings embarks on her run, she will undergo a preventive double mastectomy on Friday that will keep her off the campaign trail for approximately 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,” she told the Sun.

Rockeymoore Cummings ran for governor in 2018, receiving an EMILY's List endorsement, but dropped out of the race after her husband was hospitalized. Now, she faces two opponents who eulogized Cummings—his staffer, Harry Spikes, and former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume—in the race to fill his Senate seat. “This race is going to be a sprint to the finish,” Rockeymoore Cummings told supporters on Tuesday.

Originally Appeared on Vogue