The daughters of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings announced in a statement this week that they will be supporting one of their father’s longtime staffers in the race to take his seat. Cummings’ widow, Maya Rockeymore Cummings, is also running for her late husband’s seat.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Jennifer Cummings, the congressman’s eldest daughter, revealed in a written statement that both she and her sister, Adia, would be endorsing Harry Spikes to fill the seat in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District.
”Our father often said of himself that he was ‘an ordinary man called to an extraordinary mission,’ and Harry embodies that same spirit,” Jennifer Cummings wrote in the statement, adding that Spikes “has the unique ability to build a multigenerational and diverse coalition of support.”
The two sisters also stood alongside Spikes last week when he officially tossed his hat into the already crowded field last week.
In her statement, Jennifer Cummings said that it was the late congressman’s desire to have as many freshman members of Congress assigned to his committee so that he could help prepare the next generation for leadership, according to the Sun.
”Harry Spikes represents that next generation of leadership,” she added.
This revelation comes several weeks after Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who married the late lawmaker in 2008, announced her own bid for the seat left behind by her husband.
“He wanted me to continue this fight and I’m going to continue this fight and run the race, and prayerfully, win,” Rockeymoore Cummings, 48 told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow earlier this month.