Democrats got a boost Tuesday in their opposing bid to keep the U.S. Senate when Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for an open seat.
Endorsed and supported by Kamala Harris, Barack Obama and other Democratic celebrities, Alsobrooks is only the fourth Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Harris was second, from California in 2016, behind Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois from 1993 to 1999. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who won the Delaware election earlier on Tuesday, defeated Alsobrooks for third place.
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Hogan, a popular moderate, tried to appeal to split-ticket voters by distancing himself from Donald Trump and other Republican extremists despite the former president’s support. That effort suffered a blow last month, however, when Hogan reportedly emphasized Trump’s support during a phone call with donors.
Also in October, Alsobrooks told the Guardian at a campaign event in Baltimore that her priorities while in office would include “reproductive freedom and sensible gun legislation that will help us eradicate the gun violence that we have seen during an epidemic in our country …economic opportunities that consider a path forward for the middle class [and] the preservation of freedoms and democracy. And I think that message resonates with Marylanders.
On Tuesday, Marylanders agreed. Alsobrooks’ victory boosted Democrats’ admittedly slim hopes of retaining the Senate, which they controlled 51-49 before the polls closed.
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