“Angela Alsobrooks, backed by Maryland’s governor and other leading Democrats, defeated wealthy, self-funded Democrat David Trone for a chance to become the state’s first Black U.S. senator,” the Baltimore Sun reports.
“If she defeats the Republican nominee, former Gov. Larry Hogan, in November, she would also become only the fourth Black woman in U.S. Senate history.”
“Maryland voters on Tuesday will end one of the ugliest Senate primaries of the cycle, choosing between wealthy businessman Rep. David Trone (D-MD) or county executive Angela Alsobrooks, a favorite of state party leaders,” Axios reports.
“The choice is a monumental one for Maryland Democrats, as the party will face former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a popular Republican, in November. The deep-blue state is suddenly competitive.”
New York Times: “Hogan knows that his side of the party — what he calls ‘the Republican wing of the Republican Party’ — lost that battle. He knows that many of his fellow Never Trumpers have lost re-election, decided to retire or changed their tune. And he is running for Senate anyway, gearing up for a fierce battle that will test whether there is any path forward for anti-Trump Republicans seeking federal office in 2024.”
Said Hogan: “I do feel a little bit like I’m running toward the burning building.”
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“Five years ago, Rep. David Trone (D-MD) appeared to have put his days as a GOP donor behind him. The liquor store tycoon had just won a U.S. House seat representing Maryland’s 6th District, despite some critics questioning his progressive bona fides. Over the previous two decades, Trone had contributed more than $150,000 to Republicans nationwide. It was the cost of doing business, he said. Since then, his personal donations have been almost exclusively to Democrats and left-leaning advocacy groups,” Time reports.
“Now, Trone is running for a rare open Senate seat in Maryland, one of America’s most liberal states. He’s campaigning as a progressive who will work to safeguard abortion access.”
“But in the years since Trone joined Congress, his company has sent tens of thousands of dollars to anti-abortion Republicans across the country.”
A new Emerson College Polling/The Hill/DC News Now survey in Maryland finds the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in a dead heat: 42% of voters support Angela Alsobrooks, while 41% support David Trone. Twelve percent are undecided.
When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward and are accounted for in the candidate’s total support, Alsobrooks’ support increases to 47%, and Trone’s to 44%.
Politico: “With the contest two weeks away, Trone is explicitly making his bank account a selling point, testing whether it’s more important for Democrats to diversify the overwhelmingly white and male Senate — or to have the resources to save their deeply endangered incumbents.”
“A Trone victory would mean an unbroken string of white senators from a state where nearly one in three residents is Black, and raise questions about the stated values of a party that calls Black women its backbone.”
Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R) “confirmed that he would caucus with Republicans in Washington, despite his concerns about Donald Trump’s grip on the party,” the AP reports.
“He also vowed not to leave the GOP after the election, even if Trump returns to the White House.”
Said Hogan: “I’m a real Republican.”
Rolling Stone: Hogan’s error-laden memoir villainized Baltimore.
After dropping another $18.5 million of his own cash into his Maryland Senate campaign to bring his total over $40 million, Rep. David Trone (D-MD) is now “officially the biggest self funder of a Senate primary in American history,” Inside Elections reports.
“I still don’t have any burning desire to be a senator. I wasn’t looking for a title. I don’t need a job. But I’m just so frustrated with how broken our political system is.”
— Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R), quoted by CNN.
A new Baltimore Banner/Goucher College poll in Maryland finds Larry Hogan (R) edging David Trone (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 43% to 42%.
Hogan also tops Angela Alsobrooks (D), 44% to 40%.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) endorsed Angela Alsobrooks (D) for U.S. Senate in Maryland, days after Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) racial slur incident.
“Five Black House Democrats are endorsing Angela Alsobrooks (D) in her Maryland Senate bid, days after her primary opponent apologized for using a racial slur in a House hearing,” Axios reports.
“The five lawmakers bucked their House colleague Rep. David Trone (D-MD), Alsobrooks’ primary opponent, in endorsing the Prince George’s County executive.”
A new Washington Post-University of Maryland Poll finds Larry Hogan (R) leading Rep. David Trone (D) in a possible U.S. Senate match up, 49% to 37%.
In another possible match up, Hogan leads Angela Aslobrooks (D) 50% to 36%.
Said pollster Michael Hanmer: “The big issue for the Democrats right now is that many people in the state don’t know who either of these candidates are.”
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declined to say whether he would vote to protect in-vitro fertilization or codify Roe v. Wade into federal law if Maryland voters send him to the Senate in November, NBC News reports.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) told NBC News that he decided to run for his state’s Senate seat this year when Senate Republicans recently killed the bipartisan border measure after Donald Trump told them to block it.
Said Hogan: “Probably the most convincing guy was George Bush, who called me and said that he thought that I had an important voice that was needed for the party. He thought that there was a missing voice for our party to get back on track to the more Reagan-esque bigger-tent party. And he said, you know, even though you probably don’t want to be a senator, we need you.”
New York Times: “The popular former Republican governor of Maryland had rebuffed years of entreaties and lobbying from a parade of powerful Republicans. But when he received an emailed letter from a lifelong Maryland resident on Jan. 8 making less an appeal to partisanship than a call to public service, Mr. Hogan responded within an hour — with an invitation via an aide for a private meeting in Annapolis.”
“The letter’s author, Darin Thacker, was no ordinary constituent. He’s the chief of staff to the chairman of the Senate G.O.P.’s campaign arm.”
“In a sign of how badly the GOP wants to flip Maryland’s Senate seat, former President Trump is expected to set aside his feud with the state’s likely GOP nominee,” Axios reports.
“Distancing himself from Trump could ultimately be crucial for former Gov. Larry Hogan in a solid blue state like Maryland, but Trump hasn’t taken well to perceived disloyalty in the past.”
Punchbowl News: “Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is leading both of his potential Democratic Senate challengers by double digits, according to GOP polling provided to the NRSC.”
“Hogan leads Rep. David Trone (D-MD) 49% to 33% and outruns Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks 52% to 29%, according to the poll conducted by longtime Hogan pollsters Ragnar Research Partners.”
“We make it a habit not to run many internal polls, but we felt compelled to include this. These are eye-popping numbers, and it shows the challenges Democrats face in a very blue state with Hogan.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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