Special Election Expected for Elijah Cummings' Seat in Congress
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In the wake of Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings' death Thursday, a special election for his replacement is expected to be held next year.
Cummings represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District, which includes Baltimore, Ellicott City and Catonsville. Cummings held the seat in the overwhelming Democratic district since 1996. He was chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which has a leading role in the House's impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.
Gov. Larry Hogan has 10 days to announce the dates of a special primary election and special general election, according to state law. That takes us to Oct. 27, at the latest.
Maryland's 7th Congressional District
Source: Maryland.gov
Credit: Anisa Holmes/NBC Washington
The special primary election must be held on a Tuesday at least 65 days after the governor's proclamation. Then, the special general election must be held on a Tuesday at least 65 days after that.
That means Cummings' replacement will be elected no earlier than March 2020.
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Portrait of politician and Maryland congressional representative Elijah Cummings, 1973.
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Elijah Cummings, 1975.
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Elijah Cummings, 1978.
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Politician and Maryland congressional representative Elijah Cummings and Vera Hall, 1984.
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Elijah Cummings, Norman Ron and Charlene Blount during a ceremony, June 1984.
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Elijah Cummings, 1985.
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Politician and Maryland congressional representative Elijah Cummings at his campaign headquarters, 1988.
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Elijah Cummings, 1988.
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President Bill Clinton attends church with Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening and Rep. Elijah Cummings at the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore.
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Elijah Cummings and Jennifer Cummings, 1994.
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Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Elijah Cummings in Maryland, 1995.
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Rep. Elijah Cummings listens to testimony before Select Committee on Intelligence hearing involving allegations of CIA involvement in the crack cocaine epidemic, Oct. 23, 1996.
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Cummings with a supporter, after forum held at Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church on Feb. 27, 1996.
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Group portrait of politician and Maryland congressional representative Elijah Cummings, Nov. 7, 1998.
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Rep. Elijah Cummings giving a speech in Maryland, Feb. 6, 1999.
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Surrounded by members of the Secret Service, Cummings points to the crowd alongside presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama at Prince George's Community College, Oct. 10, 2007 in Largo, Maryland. Obama attended a fundraiser and rally at the college.
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Maryland Obama supporters kick off the final push to the Maryland primary. Center: Cummings, surrounded by other elected officials including from left, Maryland State Del. Elizabeth Bobo, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Attorney General Doug Gansler.
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Cummings speaks during day three of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 27, 2008, in Denver, Colorado.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren talks with Cummings before President Obama's State of the Union address, Feb. 12, 2013.
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Cummings and his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, arrive at a state dinner hosted by President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in honor of French President Francois Hollande at the White House, Feb. 11, 2014.
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Cummings attends the Harvard Business School Club's 3rd Annual Leadership Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel, June 13, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
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Cummings photographed in his office on Capitol Hill, Nov. 15, 2018.
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Cummings and moderator Chuck Todd appear on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Nov. 25, 2018.
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi performs the ceremonial swearing-in with incoming Chair of the House Oversight Committee Elijah Cummings and his wife, Maya Rockeymoore, at the start of the 116th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 3, 2019. (Photo by Alex Edelman/AFP) (Editor's Note: Oct. 17, 1029, 11:26 a.m.: A previous photo in this spot was removed because a Getty Images caption was incorrect.)
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Cummings chairs the House Oversight Committee as Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, testifies on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
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Cummings goes to House chambers before the Democrat controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning President Donald Trump for his "racist comments" about four Democratic congresswomen the day before, in July 2019.
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Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff speaks alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings and Judiciary Committee Chair Jerold Nadler after the former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony on July 24, 2019.
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Cummings poses for photos and greets people after speaking at the grand opening of the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation's Nature Play Space, Aug. 3, 2019. The Druid Heights Community Development Corporation, the National Wildlife Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the University of Maryland transformed a vacant lot into a play space and park for the community.
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Cummings speaks at a National Press Club Headliners luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 7, 2019.
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Cummings signed a guest book before his speech at a NPC Headliners luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 7, 2019, writing, "To the Press Club, thank you for having me, keep reporting the good, bad, and ugly."
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Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chats with Jeff Ballou, NPC past president and news editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, at a NPC Headliners luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 7, 2019.
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It's not yet clear when a special election will take place, a spokesman for Hogan told The Baltimore Sun. His office did not immediately respond to an inquiry by News4.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York will take over the House Oversight and Reform Committee. She will serve as acting chair until Democrats choose a permanent chair at an undetermined future date, a senior Democratic leadership aide told the Associated Press.
Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
