Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks won the Democratic Senate primary for retiring Democratic Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin’s seat on Tuesday, setting her up for a competitive general election matchup with former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, The Associated Press projected.
Alsobrooks secured 52.6% of the Democratic primary vote compared to Rep. David Trone’s 43.4%, according to the AP’s estimates at the time of writing. Trone had been leading Alsobrooks in polling for most of the cycle, with surveys largely showing he would fare better against Hogan than the county executive would.
Two polls released just days before the primary showed Alsobrooks leading Trone, narrowing the congressman’s lead in FiveThirtyEight’s average to just 2.4 points. A Concord Public Opinion Partners survey published on Monday found the county executive ahead by five points in a head-to-head matchup, and an Emerson College poll released Thursday indicated she was leading by two points among a crowded field.
Trone far out-raised and out-spent Alsobrooks during the Democratic primary, during which the Total Wine owner funneled over $61 million of his own money into the race, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.
The Democratic primary became a bitter competition of identity politics, as Alsobrooks is a black female and Trone came under fire for a racial slur he appeared to accidentally make during a congressional hearing. Trone’s campaign also cut out a portion of an ad after receiving backlash from a coalition of black women that it “echoe[d] tones of misogyny and racism.”
Alsobrooks racked up various high-profile endorsements from Democratic elected officials in Maryland, including Gov. Wes Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Steny Hoyer and Rep. Jamie Raskin. Trone garnered the support from over 60 of his Democratic House colleagues like Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Colin Allred of Texas, who are both also running for Senate.
Hogan also sailed to the Republican nomination on Tuesday, where he garnered 62.3% of the share among a crowded field of GOP hopefuls, according to the AP’s estimates at the time of writing. The former governor entered the race in early February after a year of speculation as to what he’d do next in his political career, including running for president.
The announcement put the blue state’s Senate seat back on Republicans’ 2024 map, with most polling since indicating Hogan would beat both Trone and Alsobrooks. However, the latest Emerson College survey found Trone leading Hogan by 11 points and Alsobrooks ahead by ten points.
