Angela Alsobrooks will hold Maryland Senate seat for Democrats, CNN projects

(CNN) — Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will win the Maryland Senate race, CNN projects, defeating Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, whose candidacy made the race to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin competitive in this otherwise deep-blue state.

Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, will be just the fourth Black woman elected to the Senate, after Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester won earlier Tuesday, and the first Black senator to represent Maryland.

Her victory is a relief for Democrats, who were facing a daunting Senate landscape before this race came on the map. With most competitive races playing out in states that former President Donald Trump either won or narrowly lost four years ago, Democrats had not been expecting to have to spend in a state President Joe Biden won by more than 30 points.

Democrats’ central argument against Hogan, who left office with high approval ratings after two terms, was that he would be a vote for Republicans in the Senate — especially on the issue of abortion.

Hogan tried to pitch himself as an independent voice, unbeholden to this party. In his first general election ad, he said he’d support codifying Roe v. Wade in federal legislation. And he rejected Trump’s endorsement after the former president said he’d like to see him win the state.

But Democrats effectively nationalized the race. Over the course of the summer and fall, Alsobrooks grew her name recognition and made gains among voters who said they cared about Democrats holding the Senate, according to Washington Post/University of Maryland polling.

Alsbrooks, a mentee of Vice President Kamala Harris, also benefited from her ascension to the top of the ticket, which boosted enthusiasm about electing Black women. Neither made their history-making potential a key message on the trail, but it was resonant in a state where Black voters – and Black women in particular – are a crucial part of the electorate. Alsobrooks’ home turf of Prince George’s County is home to one of the largest middle-class Black populations in the country.

Alsobrooks’ history-making potential was also influential for some voters in the primary, when she scored a stunning primary defeat over Rep. David Trone, who broke the record for self-funding a Senate primary campaign. The co-owner of Total Wine & More spent more than $60 million of his own money but came up more than 10 points short. The Democratic Party quickly united around Alsobrooks, who already had the backing of most of the state’s congressional delegation.

Her general election victory will now add a woman to the state’s all-male congressional delegation.

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