Elijah Cummings
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Image:Elijah Cummings portrait.jpg Elijah Eugene Cummings (born January 18 1951) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 7th district of the State of Maryland (map) since 1996.
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Early life and career
Cummings was born in Baltimore and graduated with honors from Baltimore City College High School in 1969. He later attended Howard University in Washington, DC, where he served in student government as sophomore class president, Student Government treasurer and later Student Government President. He became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
Cummings attended law school at the University of Maryland, graduating in 1976 and entering the Maryland Bar in December 1976. He practiced law for 19 years before first being elected to the House in the 1996 elections.
For 16 years, Cummings served in the Maryland House of Delegates. In the Maryland General Assembly, he served as Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and was the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker Pro Tem, the second highest position in the House of Delegates.
Congressional career
Cummings was elected to the United States House of Representatives in April 1996 in a special election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District following the resignation of Kweisi Mfume. On November 9, 2004, Congressman Cummings was re-elected with 74 percent of the vote.
Image:Cummings protest pickering.JPGCummings also served as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 108th United States Congress.
Cummings currently serves on the following U.S. House committees:
- Member of the House Government Reform Committee.
- Ranking Member of the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee.
- Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
- Member of the Subcommittee on Highways & Transit.
- Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads.
- Member of the Joint Economic Committee
- Co-chairman of the House AIDS Working Group.
- Member of the House Task Force on Health Care Reform.
Other contributions and service
Cummings also serves on numerous Maryland boards and commissions including the Board of Visitors (BOV) to the United States Naval Academy, the Baltimore Zoo Board of Trustees, the Baltimore Aquarium Board of Trustees, the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors and the Dunbar-Hopkins Health Partnership Executive Board.
In addition to his many speaking engagements, he writes a bi-weekly column for the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper. He currently lives in the Madison Park community in Baltimore, and is an active member of the New Psalmist Baptist Church. He has recently been mentioned as a possible candidate in 2006 for the United States Senate seat of retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes.
He received praise and a boost in notoriety following the congressional panel hearings on steroids in March of 2005. While investigating the use of steroids in sports, the panel called numerous baseball players to testify, including former legendary slugger Mark McGwire. After McGwire answered many previous questions in a vague and auspicious fashion, Cummings demanded to know if he was "taking the fifth", referring to the fifth amendment. McGwire responded by timidly saying "I am here to talk about the future not about the past". The exchange came to epitomize the entire inquiry.
Election history
Template:Start box !bgcolor=#cccccc |Year !bgcolor=#cccccc |Office !bgcolor=#cccccc |Election ! !bgcolor=#cccccc |Subject !bgcolor=#cccccc |Party !bgcolor=#cccccc |Votes !bgcolor=#cccccc |% ! !bgcolor=#cccccc |Opponent !bgcolor=#cccccc |Party !bgcolor=#cccccc |Votes !bgcolor=#cccccc |% ! !bgcolor=#cccccc |Opponent !bgcolor=#cccccc |Party !bgcolor=#cccccc |Votes !bgcolor=#cccccc |% |- |1996 |Congress, 7th district |General || |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Elijah Cummings |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democratic |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |115,764 |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |83.47% | |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Kenneth Kondner |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |22,929 |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |16.53% | |colspan=4| |- |1998 |Congress, 7th district |General || |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Elijah Cummings |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democratic |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |112,699 |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |85.74% | |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Kenneth Kondner |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |18,742 |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |14.26% | |colspan=4| |- |2000 |Congress, 7th district |General || |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Elijah Cummings |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democratic |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |134,066 |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |87.07% | |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Kenneth Kondner |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |19,773 |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |12.84% | |colspan=4| |- |2002 |Congress, 7th district |General || |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Elijah Cummings |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democratic |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |137,047 |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |73.53% | |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Joseph E. Ward |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |49,172 |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |24.61% | |colspan=4| |- |2004 |Congress, 7th district |General || |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Elijah Cummings |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |Democratic |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |179,189 |bgcolor=#DDEEFF |73.38% | |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Tony Salazar |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |Republican |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |60,102 |bgcolor=#FFE8E8 |26.38% | |bgcolor=#9DFF9D |Virginia Rodino |bgcolor=#9DFF9D |Green |bgcolor=#9DFF9D |4,727 |bgcolor=#9DFF9D |1.94% Template:End box
References
- This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Official Congressional biography for Representative Cummings.
- Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection.