Former Congressman Kweisi Mfume will be sworn back into the U.S. House on Tuesday ― even as ballots are still being counted in his most recent election.
Mfume’s swearing-in to the 7th District seat was announced by his campaign and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday.
He will fill the vacancy created in October by the death of the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D).
Mfume, a Democrat, holds a decisive lead in vote-counting in the 7th District, where Maryland held its first mail-in election last week. Local boards of election are expected to continue counting ballots through Friday and the Maryland State Board of Elections is expected to certify the results next week.
Maryland’s Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone sent a letter to the U.S. House with early unofficial results of the election last week.
“It would appear from these unofficial results that Mr. Mfume was elected as Representative in Congress from the 7th Congressional District of Maryland,” Lamone wrote on Thursday. “To the best of our knowledge and belief at this time, there is no contest to this election.”
As of noon on Monday, Mfume had received 73.1 percent of the vote in the district, over Republican Kimberly Klacik, who had 25.8 percent of the vote.
Almost 148,000 voters cast their ballots by mail, according to the most recent figures released Friday.
Mfume will be sworn in Tuesday to fill the remainder of Cummings’ unexpired term. The primary election for the next full term in the same district is scheduled for June 2.
Mfume and Klacik are both candidates in their respective primaries.
In addition, five other Republicans and 18 Democrats will appear on the ballot.
The state started sending postage-paid mail ballots to voters outside of the 7th District for the June 2 primary last week; ballots for voters inside the district will be mailed at the end of this week.
Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony will be held around 10:45 a.m. on the floor of the House of Representatives. It will be live-streamed on Pelosi’s Facebook page.
Danielle E. Gaines
Contributor
Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.
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