Maya Rockeymoore Cummings Elected Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Maryland Democrats have selected public policy consultant Maya Rockeymoore Cummings to lead them via a December 1 vote of the Maryland State Central Committee.

Rockeymoore Cummings defeated Kathleen Matthews, who was the incumbent, for the position. Matthews is a Montgomery County businesswoman. The term for Maryland Democratic Party Chair is four years. The new chair is the wife of a powerful member of Congress, Elijah Cummings, who primarily represents Baltimore.

Rockeymoore Cummings is also a former gubernatorial hopeful but she withdrew from the race in January after her husband faced a health challenge he later overcame. Cummings will be the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight next year and is expected to take a hard look at the actions of the Trump Administration.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan easily won re-election in November over former NAACP President Ben Jealous. Hogan won despite Maryland being a blue state that features Democrats’ enjoying a two-to-one voter registration advantage over Maryland Republicans.

Rockeymore Cummings has worked as a congressional aid and policy expert. She also worked for the National Urban League and as a policy analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She is frequently seen on TV and on policy panels speaking on economics and inequality.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke