This morning, Sen. Ben Cardin announced he will not seek re-election to the US Senate from Maryland. Sen. Cardin was first elected to the Senate in 2006, after 20 years in the US House and 10 years as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. We thank Sen. Cardin for his decades of service.
Sen. Cardin’s retirement creates a rare and coveted vacancy in what should be a safely blue seat. Former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan remains extremely popular in the state and will undoubtedly be courted by national Republicans; he has declined to run in the past and has expressed presidential ambitions. It remains unclear whether Hogan can win a primary against a MAGA candidate.
We expect a robust primary on the Democratic side. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is the leading female contender. After several positions in PG County government, Alsobrooks was elected as the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County in 2010 and again in 2014. She was elected County Executive in 2018. After being discussed as a potential gubernatorial candidate, she decided to run for re-election instead and endorsed now-Gov. Wes Moore. PG County is the second-most populous in the state and is the largest and most affluent African-American majority county in the country, giving Alsobrooks, who is Black, a strong base from which to run. We expect Alsobrooks to announce shortly and we will follow up with campaign contact information so our groups can start scheduling events. She will need our support early!
In addition to Angela, Reps. Jamie Raskin and David Trone have been mentioned as possible candidates, as well as Reps. Glenn Ivey, Kweisi Mfume, and John Sarbanes. Raskin developed a national profile after his leadership of Trump’s second impeachment and outpouring of support after his son’s suicide and his cancer diagnosis (he is now in remission). Trone is the founder of Total Wine & More and has self-funded his elections. We expect to hear about decisions from these House Members in the coming days and we will keep you updated.
In other words, this will be an extremely competitive race in the primary but only competitive in the general if Hogan wins the Republican nod. We are looking forward to having another opportunity to support a Black woman candidate for the US Senate.
Join us next Thursday, May 11th at 3 pm ET to meet Angela on our EWA Monthly Zoom. We will also be discussing the Biden-Harris re-election campaign with special guest Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a national co-chair of the presidential re-elect. RSVP here for the call.