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Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings, to run for his congressional seat

FILE PHOTO: Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, has resigned as Maryland's Democratic Party chair to run for her late husband's congressional seat. 

The wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings has announced she is seeking election to the congressional seat left vacant by her husband when he died in October.

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings was the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party until recently and she made the announcement Monday on "The Rachel Maddow Show".

Rep. Cummings served the Maryland 7th Congressional District for 23 years.

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The primary will be Feb. 4 and the general election will be held on April 28, USA Today reported.

Rockeymoore Cummings told Maddow that she fought along with her husband for the past 12 years.

She said she will continue his vision for the district, The Baltimore Sun reported.

"I've been on this path for fighting for the soul of our democracy, for fighting for health care, education, for a better America for all. He wanted me to continue this fight and I'm going to continue this fight and run the race and prayerfully win," Rockeymore Cummings said, according to USA Today.

According to Rockeymoore Cummings' official biography, she married Rep. Cummings in 2008 after the couple met while working on Capitol Hill in the 1990s.

Rep.  Cummings died of cancer on Oct. 17, The Sun reported.