By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the wife of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, said Tuesday she is "strongly considering" running for governor of Maryland.

Rockeymoore Cummings, a Democrat, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that the health care debate in Washington has shown that Republicans in the nation's capital are not considering the needs of women, children and minorities.

"Gutting Medicaid is simply an unacceptable proposition, and it has a disproportionately negative effect on women and children," Rockeymoore Cummings said.

She said she believes more decisions about important issues like health care will fall to state leaders, where governors will have a lot of say in who gets needed services. She also said she doesn't have confidence that Republican Gov. Larry Hogan "can make the right decisions on behalf of Maryland's families, and particularly women and their families."

"We are paying attention to the details of policy perhaps more closely and heavily now than in a long time, and we're afraid," Rockeymoore Cummings said in an interview. "We're afraid of this leadership. We think that it's failed leadership, and we deserve better. I'm referring to (President Donald) Trump, Hogan, the GOP in Congress. I'm putting them all together."

Hogan joined a bipartisan group of 11 governors who say Senate Republicans should abandon the effort to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care law and replace it later. Still, Maryland Democrats have criticized the governor for not taking a stronger stand much earlier in the debate.

Rockeymoore Cummings said she may announce a decision "within the next few weeks." She spoke to the AP during a break at the Women's Wealth & Health Equity Summit, an initiative of the Center for Global Policy Solutions, a Washington, D.C.-based policy firm that she leads.

The field for Maryland's Democratic nomination is growing into a crowded one with nearly a year to go until the June 26 primary.

State Sen. Richard Madaleno, of Montgomery County, Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker and former NAACP President Ben Jealous are running. Entrepreneur Alec Ross and lawyer Jim Shea also are running. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and U.S. Rep. John Delaney also are weighing a run. Delaney has said he plans to announce a decision by the end of the month.

Rockeymoore Cummings would be the first candidate to enter the race from Baltimore, the state's largest city. Her husband's congressional district includes a large portion of the city.