1. 32 candidates—24 Democrats & eight Republicans—are vying for late congressman’s seat in Maryland
2. Support the Daily Brew: Become a member of the Ballotpedia Society
3. 52% of Brew readers who responded to our survey didn’t make New Year’s resolutions for 2020

32 candidates—24 Democrats & eight Republicans—are vying for late congressman’s seat in Maryland 

There are just two weeks until the first congressional primaries of 2020—on Feb. 4—in the special election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District. Twenty-four candidates are running in the Democratic primary and eight in the Republican primary. The winners of each party’s primary will meet in the general election April 28.

The 7th District was previously represented by Elijah Cummings (D), who died on October 17, 2019. In the 2018 general election, Cummings defeated Richmond Davis (R), 76% to 21%. The Democratic Party has held the 7th Congressional District since 1953 when the seat was added after the 1950 census. The district contains portions of Howard and Baltimore counties and parts of the city of Baltimore.

Media coverage has focused on seven candidates—Talmadge Branch, Jill Carter, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Terri Hill, Michael Higginbotham, Kweisi Mfume, and Harry Spikes—in the Democratic primary.

On the Republican side, media attention has focused on Kim Klacik, who has criticized Baltimore's current leadership, saying Democratic policies have failed the city. Two other candidates—Ray Bly and William Newton—also ran in the Republican primary in this district in 2016 and 2018.

The special election in Maryland's 7th District is one of three special elections scheduled in 2020 to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives. The others:

• Former Rep. Sean Duffy (R) resigned in Wisconsin's 7th District on September 23, 2019. Primary elections will be held February 18 and the general election is on May 12. 

• Former Rep. Katie Hill (D) resigned on November 1, 2019, in California's 25th District. A top-two primary will be held March 3 and the general election will be May 12.

There are two other vacancies in the House. Former Rep. Chris Collins (R) resigned in New York's 27th District on October 1, 2019. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has not yet scheduled a special election for this seat. Former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) resigned from California's 50th District Jan. 13 and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has announced that a special election will not be held.

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52% of Brew readers who responded to our survey didn’t make New Year’s resolutions for 2020

Our first What’s the Tea? question of 2020 asked Brew readers whether they were still on track regarding their New Year’s resolutions. Personally, I didn’t make any resolutions on Jan. 1 this year, since what I really should do is spend more time with my dog outdoors which is difficult in January in the northeast. Can we move New Year’s to March or April? I would be much better at making—and keeping—my resolutions if the weather was nicer!

Looking at the results, it seems like a majority of Brew readers who responded to our survey also didn’t make any resolutions this year. And over 30% of you are still on track—way to go! 

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