The Maryland Senate seat is being vacated by Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Rep. Elijah Cummings will not pursue her seat. | AP Photo Rep. Cummings won't run for open Maryland Senate seat

Rep. Elijah Cummings said on Monday he will seek reelection for his House seat, passing on an opportunity to run for the competitive open Senate seat in Maryland.

The Democrat has yet to officially file for reelection but told Politico he plans to do so in the next two days, formally ending months of speculation that Cummings would challenge fellow Reps. Chris Van Hollen or Donna Edwards in the Senate primary.


The deadline to file in Maryland is Wednesday.

The election board in Maryland mistakenly posted on Monday that Cummings had refiled but that notice was removed by 2 p.m. as the congressman has yet to travel to Annapolis to formally submit his reelection paperwork.

“Of course, I am,” Cummings said when reached by telephone on his intent to file for reelection for the House seat.

Cummings is a highly respected member of the House Democratic Caucus and would have presented a serious challenge to either Van Hollen or Edwards if he had entered the race. Edwards is expected to sweep the predominantly African-American voters in Prince George’s County, while Van Hollen is popular with moderate voters.

Cummings has emerged as a national figure after widely reported clashes with former Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa on the IRS and the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal. He’s also burnished his credentials serving on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, where he’s emerged as Hillary Clinton’s staunchest defender in the House.

The district is solidly Democratic and Cummings should have no serious challenger. The Maryland politician won his reelection campaign in 2014 with 69.9 percent of the vote.

The Maryland Senate seat is being vacated by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring.

