Alsobrooks, Angela

Subterms

    Latest story

    113 Shares189 Views

    Angela Alsobrooks Wants to Be Maryland’s First Black Senator

    by

    Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland’s newly chosen Democratic nominee for Senate, is familiar with firsts.With her election in 2018 as executive of Prince George’s County, a populous suburban area bordering Washington, Ms. Alsobrooks became the first Black woman to hold that role.Now she has the chance to become the first Black senator to represent Maryland, which is more than 30 percent Black. If she wins this fall, she would also become the sole woman in Maryland’s congressional delegation, and the second woman ever to represent it in the Senate.And she would be only the fourth Black woman, after Carol Moseley Braun, Kamala Harris and Laphonza Butler, to serve in the Senate — from any state.In a campaign that became increasingly tense over the past few weeks, Ms. Alsobrooks leaned heavily on the importance of racial and gender representation in government, seemingly in hopes that her historic candidacy would counter the flood of cash being spent by her opponent, Representative David Trone.Mr. Trone put more than $55 million of his own money into the race, making it the most expensive Senate primary ever in Maryland.“As women, we don’t want people talking about us and making decisions about us without us,” Ms. Alsobrooks told The New York Times as Tuesday’s election approached, referring to abortion rights, one of the biggest issues of this year’s campaigns.Before she was elected as the county executive in 2018, she also was the county’s top prosecutor, and before that she was an assistant state’s attorney focused on domestic violence.Race was a major theme in her Senate primary, both because of the potential firsts that Ms. Alsobrooks represented and because Mr. Trone, who is white, was accused of racism after he used a racial slur in a congressional hearing (He apologized and said he had used the word inadvertently).She received the support of most of Maryland’s congressional delegation, as well as Gov. Wes Moore — the state’s first Black governor — and Black women in other states.In the general election, she will face a formidable opponent: Larry Hogan, the state’s popular former Republican governor. More

    More stories

    • 125 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Angela Alsobrooks Defeats David Trone in Maryland Democratic Senate Primary

      by

      Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, won the Democratic primary for Maryland’s Senate seat on Tuesday, setting up a showdown with a popular Republican former governor that could determine control of the chamber.The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night for Ms. Alsobrooks, 53, who defeated Representative David Trone, a wealthy congressman who spent more than $61 million of his own money on the race. Mr. Trone outspent Ms. Alsobrooks by a nearly 10-to-1 ratio.She is trying to become the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the Senate. The chamber now has just four Black members, three men and one woman, Senator Laphonza Butler, who has made it clear she will leave at the end of her term in January.While Ms. Alsobrooks, a former prosecutor, trailed Mr. Trone early in the race, she was buoyed by widespread support among Maryland’s Democratic elected officials, who rallied around her campaign.She will now face Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor, in what will be a closely watched race. Mr. Hogan was recruited to run by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, as Republicans try to recapture the Senate.Democrats and three independents who largely vote with them now control the chamber 51 to 49, but Republicans are favored to pick up West Virginia, increasing the need for Democrats to hold Maryland.Ms. Alsobrooks and Mr. Hogan will compete to replace Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, who is retiring after holding the seat since 2007.The primary between Ms. Alsobrooks and Mr. Trone turned negative as it tightened, splitting Democrats in Congress and beyond. A competitive primary was a rarity in Maryland, a reliably Democratic state that has not had a Republican senator in nearly four decades. Mr. Hogan’s decision to enter the race changed all that.Mr. Trone scored endorsements from congressional leaders, who were eager to have a wealthy candidate who could fund his own Senate run as they embark on a costly battle in several competitive states to keep control of the chamber. But all but one Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation backed Ms. Alsobrooks. More

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      In Deep-Blue Maryland, a Democratic Primary Turns Uncommonly Competitive

      by

      The contest between Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, and Representative David Trone has grown tighter as they vie to take on Larry Hogan, the G.O.P. ex-governor.Wearing white Chuck Taylor sneakers with her gray pantsuit, Angela Alsobrooks was in the middle of a whirlwind day of campaigning in the vote-rich suburbs of Maryland last week when a voter confronted her with the question on everyone’s mind: Was she the candidate with the best chance of keeping the state’s up-for-grabs seat in the United States Senate in Democratic hands?It’s an unfamiliar question for deep-blue Maryland, which hasn’t had a Republican senator in nearly four decades. But the state’s typically sleepy Senate race has heated up this year after Larry Hogan, the popular former two-term Republican governor, decided to run.Now Democrats across the state are wringing their hands trying to figure out which of their candidates has a better shot at defeating Mr. Hogan. The primary, which is set for Tuesday, pits Ms. Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive who is trying to become the first Black person and second woman from Maryland to serve in the Senate, against Representative David Trone, a wealthy third-term congressman who is smashing self-financing records — he has spent more than $61 million of his own money, flooding the airwaves with TV ads — to secure a victory.Perhaps because of the heightened stakes, the contest has turned increasingly negative as it has tightened, splitting Democrats in Congress and beyond. While congressional leaders have endorsed Mr. Trone, all but one Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation are backing Ms. Alsobrooks. She also drew support from several Black lawmakers from other states after Mr. Trone used a racial slur at a congressional hearing — a remark for which he later apologized, saying he meant to say a different word.Barbara Peart, 76, the voter who questioned Ms. Alsobrooks last week about her chances, said she did so because she was terrified that a Republican could win the seat and flip the Senate, boosting the agenda of former President Donald J. Trump.“It’s scary because it’s no exaggeration that it’s the most important race in a long time,” Mrs. Peart, a Democrat from Columbia, Md., said. “We can’t afford to lose the Senate.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More