Republican seeking Elijah Cummings' seat wants to bring change to Baltimore
Maryland congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik defends herself from attacks from the left after announcing her political run.
Many Baltimore residents were “very happy” that President Trump shed light on the issues in their city, according to Republican strategist Kimberly Klacik, who is running for late Rep. Elijah Cummings' seat in Maryland.
“People got on Trump’s case for basically repeating what so many people in West Baltimore said. Not just the residents, but even the former mayor, Mayor [Catherine] Pugh said the same thing: rat-infested. There's problems there,” Klacik told, “Fox & Friends First" on Tuesday.
Klacik said that the sentiments expressed from Baltimore locals give her hope that she, a Republican, would have a "shot" at winning in the traditionally Democrat-led city.
KIMBERLY KLACIK: DEMS DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX BALTIMORE PROBLEMS, ATTACK TRUMP INSTEAD
Cummings, the longtime top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, passed away in October at the age of 68.
As a vocal critic, Cummings feuded with the president over living conditions in Baltimore which the president called out in a July tweet, calling parts of the city a "rat and rodent-infested mess." Trump was responding to Klacik drawing attention to the city's problems.
“I drew a lot of attention to it and I should be the one to come up with solutions and I have many of them,” Klacik said.
“We need answers to 'The Squad.' We need somebody to actually support Trump’s policies on immigration and many other things so I believe Republicans can win this seat and I’m ready to fight,” said Klacik, vowing to back Trump.
On the Democratic side, at least two people have thrown their hats in the ring.
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Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume announced plans Monday to seek his old seat again.
Mfume, a Democrat who represented the Baltimore-area congressional seat before Cummings from 1987 to 1996, is the second candidate to enter the Democratic primary. Talmadge Branch, the House of Delegates Majority Whip, said he would run on Thursday, according to the Baltimore Sun. Cummings' widow, Maya Rockeymoore-Cummings, has also said she is also considering joining the race.
Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.