Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Democratic County Executive Angela Alsobrooks emerged victorious Tuesday in Maryland’s primary for the open U.S. Senate seat.
Hogan, who served two terms as Maryland governor from 2015 to 2023, easily dominated the GOP field with more than 60% of the vote despite entering the race late.
Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, fended off a fierce campaign mounted by Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), founder of alcohol retailer Total Wine, who invested more than $50 million of his own money in Prince George’s County. race.
Alsobrooks received 53.4 percent of the vote to Trone’s 42.6 percent, despite the congressman’s spending blitz.
The race for the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Mary.) should be competitive despite Maryland’s blue leanings.
Hogan, a moderate and critic of former President Donald Trump, is only the second Republican governor to win re-election in Maryland, where more Democrats are registered to vote than Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin.
Hogan signaled during the election campaign that he would continue his centrist approach to politics if elected senator.
Top Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have been encouraging Hogan to seek higher office for years, but the former governor had pushed back recruitment efforts until February , when he had barely reached the Senate nomination deadline for the GOP race. .
Hogan, 67, was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in June 2015, during his first year in the Governor’s House, but continued to work while he received treatment.
He has been in remission since November 2015.
History, however, is on Alsobrooks’ side to fill the Senate seat.
Maryland hasn’t had a Republican senator in 37 years, and President Biden won the state by a whopping 33 percentage points in 2020.
Democrats also control both houses of the state legislature, the governor’s mansion, and all but one member of the Old Line State’s congressional delegation are Democrats.
“On November 5, 2024, we will defeat Larry Hogan, keep Maryland blue and keep our Senate under Democratic control – send the message,” Alsobrooks wrote on X after his victory.
If elected, Alsobrooks would be Maryland’s first black senator and only the third black woman elected to the upper house.
Democrats currently hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, but must defend 23 seats this cycle – Republicans have just 11.
New York Post
