Kweisi Mfume wins his - and Elijah Cummings' - old House seat

 Mfume captured about three-quarters of the vote, according to unofficial returns. There were more than 110,000 mail-in votes and just over 1,000 people voting in person.

The former congressman will retake the seat he held for nine years before he stepped down and was followed into office by his friend Cummings. He returns to Congress at a time of unprecedented upheaval in the economy and health care, and amid an extended period of crime and violence in Baltimore, the beloved hometown of both men.

"I want all of you to know from day one all of my energy, attention and focus will be on using science, data and common sense to help get our nation through this dark hour in our history," he said at his campaign headquarters in Baltimore Tuesday night, speaking to reporters who were seated at least six feet apart. "Our work in Congress must be to make sure doctors, nurses, health care professionals and first responders have what they need to do their jobs."

Mfume, 71, left the House in 1996 to serve as president of the NAACP. He defeated 23 fellow Democrats in a February special primary to win the nomination in the deep-blue district, which is anchored in Baltimore City but includes parts of Baltimore and Howard counties.

He is well known in Baltimore for his personal story of growing up poor, losing his mother to cancer at a young age and turning to crime before attending Morgan State University and entering politics, first on the Baltimore City Council and then in Washington.

The Republican nominee was Kimberly Klacik, creator of a nonprofit to help disadvantaged women, who drew attention last summer when her social media posts about trash in West Baltimore prompted President Donald Trump to call Cummings' district a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." 

Mfume has said he expects to be sworn in to office in May to serve the last months of Cummings' term. He is vying for a full two-year term later this year.

The pandemic-altered election gave Maryland election officials a chance to test procedures in one congressional district ahead of the state's primary, which was supposed to be held Tuesday but was postponed until June 2. 

The state mailed ballots to all active, eligible voters and opened three voting centers, where volunteers donned masks, gloves and face shields and wiped down voting machines and other surfaces that voters touched while exercising their right to vote. 

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has said the June primary, too, will have universal mailed ballots and limited in-person voting sites. 

About 23 percent of the 482,728 ballots distributed by mail were returned by Tuesday, according to data compiled by the state elections board. Ballots will be counted until May 8 as long as they are postmarked by Tuesday. 

At the in-person voting sites, the pandemic's influence was unmistakable. Signs imploring people to keep their distance abounded. As voters entered the room, a volunteer sprayed their hands with hand sanitizer.

"I'm taking a risk - my wife is mad as anything," said Chuck Linton, a 72-year-old poll watcher stationed at Edmondson-Westside High School in Baltimore City. "I try to protect myself as much as possible." 

Linton, a retiree and Vietnam veteran, wore gloves and a mask and tried to keep his distance from voters and volunteers. 

He said he wished the city had set up a way of screening voters before they entered the high school, and maybe a testing site, too, especially considering grim reports that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus.

"This whole neighborhood is African-American," Linton said. "The most important thing is safety. The election is almost secondary."

He voted by mail for Klacik because, he said, he wants to see change and was upset by long-ago sexual harassment allegations against Mfume.

Sedric Smith, 56, voted for Mfume based on his political and professional experience. 

"He knows the people of Baltimore City and what needs to be done for the city," said Smith, who works in a warehouse and lives in East Baltimore. He wore two face masks on Tuesday and said he never received his mail-in ballot. "But I wasn't going to let that stop me from voting," he said.

 

Voters will choose nominees for a full two-year term June 2, in a primary that will also include the presidential race, other congressional offices and Baltimore City mayor and council.

Nineteen Democrats are running in that primary, including Mfume; Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, a former state party chair and the late congressman's widow; and state Sen. Jill Carter (Baltimore City), a former public defender. There are six Republicans on the ballot, including Klacik.

Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, urged Hogan in a conference call Tuesday afternoon to ensure funding for extensive voter communication ahead of the primary. 

"I'm sure we would have seen more voters participating in the 7th District special election if more of an effort was made to reach them," she said.