Alsobrooks, Trone staying close in early returns of Maryland’s Senate primary

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary for a rare open seat was virtually deadlocked in early returns Tuesday following a wildly expensive campaign that pitted self-funded congressman David Trone against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who was backed by the governor and other leading lawmakers.

Alsobrooks led Trone in the count of all early voting returns statewide, and Trone held a similar advantage in the mail-in ballots counted so far, making the candidates all but even as of 9:10 p.m. ET, when the Associated Press estimated 25% of all primary votes had been counted. In returns from primary day itself, Alsobrooks led by a 3-2 margin.

The winner will face former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan, who won the Republican nomination over a field of a half-dozen other candidates. Hogan is vying to become Maryland’s first Republican U.S. senator in 44 years in a November election that will help determine whether Democrats retain their narrow control of the Senate.

Trone, 68, a third-term congressman from Montgomery County and the co-founder of the Total Wine & More retail chain, lent his campaign more than $60 million, making him the nation’s largest self-funder of the 2023-24 election cycle, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research group.

Trone and Alsobrooks, 53, who would be Maryland’s first Black senator and the only woman in the state’s currently all-male congressional delegation, each sought to present themselves as their party’s best chance to beat Hogan in the fall.

President Joe Biden easily won Maryland’s Democratic primary, as expected, while former President Donald Trump won the state’s Republican nomination.

Trone, who represents Western Maryland in the U.S. House, wallpapered the state with ads. He held double-digit leads in independent polls in February and April, but a May 6-8 survey by Emerson College Polling/The Hill/DC News Now found the candidates in a close race.

The campaign of Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive — who, like Trone, had never sought statewide office — produced a late string of ads, including one depicting her with Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and other members of the state’s congressional delegation.

Her campaign counted on broad turnout and support in her home county of Prince George’s to counteract early support Trone may have received from ballots mailed in while he was dominating the airwaves in early April. Since neither candidate is from Baltimore, the city and Baltimore County were considered wild cards.

Trone targeted Baltimore, which has had at least one senator for 47 years, but has no hometown candidate in this race. After voting Tuesday near his Potomac home, Trone spent the rest of the day seeking votes in the Baltimore area.

Alsobrooks also campaigned Tuesday in Baltimore, where she graduated from the University of Maryland law school, but began and ended the day in Prince George’s trying to mobilize her base.

In the early returns as of 9:10 p.m., Trone led in Baltimore County, while Alsobrooks was the leader in Baltimore City. Trone was also performing well in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, as he had predicted. Each led in their home counties, Alsobrooks in Prince George’s and Trone in Montgomery.

The candidates vied for the seat held by Democrat Ben Cardin, a Baltimorean who will retire in January.

Voter Mary Badinelli, 76, of Columbia, said the Senate race was a toss-up for her, but she picked Alsobrooks on Tuesday because Badinelli thinks she had the best chance of defeating Hogan. Badinelli has no problem with Hogan, she said, but it’s important to her that Democrats control the Senate.

Democrats hold a more than 2-1 voter registration advantage in Maryland.

It was the first election for BJ King, 19, of West Friendship, a Washington College student and registered Democrat. King said the Senate race was the most important to him, and he voted for Trone.

“For Senate, it’s definitely about who do I think can beat Hogan in November,” King said.

In Carroll County, Susanne Arthur, 76, of Westminster, said that although she would like to see another woman in the Senate, she voted for Trone over Alsobrooks because he was more likely to get elected in November.

Voter Anthony Scott, 49, of West Baltimore, went to the Westside Skill Center in Baltimore but found out he had to go to a different polling place. Still, he said was going to vote “no matter what.”

Scott said he was going with Trone: “He does what’s right,” Scott said.

Democrats hold a 51-49 U.S. Senate majority. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is retiring, and Democrats must defend a handful of seats in November in states that Democratic President Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020.

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Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Belson and Baltimore Sun Media reporters Sherry Greenfield and Thomas Goodwin Smith contributed to this article. This article will be updated.

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