The battle for the seat held for decades by Congressional icon Elijah Cummings, Maryland’s 7th District, pits an established Democrat and African American activist against a young Black republican who doesn’t even live in the district.
Democrat Kwesi Mfume won a special election to finish the remainder of Cummings term after Cummings died in October 2019 after a long battle with cancer. Mfume is a longtime Democratic politician who represented the 7th District before leaving to become head of the NAACP. He later stepped into the healthcare industry before being named to fill Cummings’ seat.
His challenger is self-described “republican strategist” Kimberly Klacik. The college drop-out also ran a non-profit called Potential Me, which hasn’t made a state or federal tax filing since 2013. Klacik, being a Black republican, gets plenty of facetime on Fox “News,” which thinks she has a chance to pull an upset in the district which covers Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County, a highly diverse district demographically and economically.
While Klacik has targeted Mfume for turning down debate invitations, Mfume has hit Klacik’s unfamiliarity with the district, including her unfamiliarity with how Baltimore is spelled.
Lastly, Kim…
What have you DONE for #Baltimore residents?
You DON'T live here
You DON'T know us
Debate you?…. really? 🤔
Before you come for me …or my beloved #Baltimore…you should first learn how to SPELL it ⏬ #WeDontKnowYou pic.twitter.com/Wg3sDkdRwS— Kweisi Mfume (@Mfume4Congress) September 22, 2020