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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore threw his support behind Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks on Monday in the competitive Democratic primary race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), saying world events prompted him to back her now.
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“We need to rally behind a person with vision and intention. We need to rally behind a person who shares both the empathy and the track record to meet this moment,” Moore (D) said during a rally of roughly 125 people inside a Baltimore brewery.
In an interview earlier in the day, Moore said, “When you look at what’s happening in the world broadly and the state directly, when you look at the fact that it’s never been more clear that American leadership is needed in the world and Maryland’s leadership is needed in this country … we want to have the right kind of partner inside of Washington who’s going to deliver for people in our state.”
Moore and Alsobrooks have been potent political allies; her endorsement during Moore’s primary race for governor helped solidify support in the Democratic establishment and lift the first-time politician to victory over rivals better known in Maryland politics.
Alsobrooks’s chief opponent in the 2024 Democratic primary is Rep. David Trone, a business executive who has spent his political career largely operating outside of the state’s political infrastructure and who poured his own fortune into the race. Top Democrats have lined up behind Alsobrooks and her two-term record in Prince George’s, with several members of Congress, state House leaders and now Moore endorsing her as she seeks to become the state’s first Black U.S. senator.
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“I’m not supporting Angela because she’ll be the first,” said Moore, the state’s first Black governor. “I’m supporting Angela because her fight will be ours.”
Moore’s endorsement followed a wide-ranging stump speech from Alsobrooks that recounted her path from serving as a young congressional intern, to law school, to a stint working in Baltimore Circuit Court, to later running to become Prince George’s County state’s attorney by acting on the advice of a mentor to “go farther and do better.”
She ticked through a list of policy ideas on crime, mental health, education, addiction and the economy, summing them up by saying, “Opportunity is the great cure for what ails so many of our families.”
Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando (D-At Large) dropped out of the Senate race Friday and endorsed Alsobrooks alongside Moore.
“It’s time now for Democrats to coalesce for the strongest candidate, who I know will fight for residents with every bone in her body,” Jawando said Monday. Jawando had cast himself as the most progressive of the three highest-profile Democratic candidates, and said he believed Alsobrooks would fight for core liberal values: the right to abortion, to mitigate climate change and to protect the LGBTQ+ community, among other policies.
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“Marylanders deserve the best, and that’s what they’re getting in Angela Alsobrooks,” Jawando said. “I ask all my supporters to join me in this fight.”
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Trone, meanwhile, has collected allies from other states and elicited support from a roster of local and county-level elected officials. A co-owner of the national liquor retailer Total Wine & More, Trone has already loaned himself $10 million for the Senate race and so far has dramatically outspent Alsobrooks, with several rounds of statewide television ads. According to campaign finance reports filed last week, Trone has spent $9.7 million since the campaign began, compared with Alsobrooks’s $1.15 million.
Moore’s endorsement comes days after Jawando’s exit effectively winnowed the field to a fight between Alsobrooks and Trone. Jawando’s fundraising did not keep up with Alsobrooks’s in what has potential to be the state’s costliest Senate race, and Jawando told supporters Friday he did not see a path to victory.
On Monday, Jawando acknowledged that he and Alsobrooks have not always agreed on policy, but he joked that he and his wife of nearly 20 years have also overcome disagreements because they share the same vision.
Alsobrooks also received endorsements Monday from other Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Baltimore County Council member Julian E. Jones Jr.
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The rare open Senate seat in Maryland follows Cardin’s retirement announcement in May. Cardin, 80, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, has been a fixture in Maryland politics for decades and will end nearly 60 years in public service by not seeking a fourth term. Cardin has not endorsed a successor.
Other Democrats in the primary race have less name recognition and fewer financial resources so far, including Juan Dominguez, a veteran and business executive new to politics who launched a campaign on Sept. 5, and three other Democrats who have not reported raising any money: Marcellus Crews, Brian Frydenborg and Steven Seuferer.
Deep-blue Maryland has sent only Democrats to the U.S. Senate since 1986, and the Democratic primary is viewed as likely to determine the state’s next senator.
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