This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

The widow of Elijah Cummings has resigned as Maryland’s Democratic party chair to run for her late husband’s congressional seat.

Elijah Cummings: congressman remembered at Baltimore funeral – in pictures Read more

Congressman Elijah Cummings died last month at the age of 68. News outlets reported that Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, 48, plans to formally announce her campaign at her Baltimore home on Tuesday morning.

Rockeymoore Cummings also says she will undergo a preventative double mastectomy on Friday. Her family has a history of breast cancer. She expects her recovery to take up to four weeks.

She joins a crowded race for the seventh district congressional seat. At least six Democrats and three Republicans have filed for the position.

Rockeymoore Cummings is a public policy consultant who won a contested battle for party chair.

The special primary for the congressional seat is on 4 February.