Angela Alsobrooks won a messy Senate primary. Now she takes on Larry Hogan.

GREENBELT, Maryland — Angela Alsobrooks emerged Tuesday from an increasingly nasty Democratic primary on the precipice of making history.

To get there, the Prince George’s County executive vanquished a wealthy self-funder who single-handedly turned a contest for an open Senate seat into the most expensive primary election ever in the state.

It was a stunning victory, and Alsobrooks is now one step closer to becoming Maryland’s first Black senator and taking a seat in a chamber in which only three Black women have ever served.

“Stories like mine don't generally make it to the United States Senate,” Alsobrooks said to a cheering crowd of supporters brandishing cardboard cutouts of her.

Having defeated three-term Rep. David Trone in a contentious primary in which he deployed more than $60 million of his own fortune, Alsobrooks will now face former Gov. Larry Hogan, the widely popular anti-Trump Republican who easily coasted to his party’s nomination.

Republicans haven’t won a Senate seat in the deep-blue state in more than four decades, but Hogan’s presence turns a normally safe seat into a competitive battleground that will siphon crucial party resources. That could affect Democrats’ attempt to maintain their tenuous control of the Senate, as every dollar spent in Maryland is one not spent defending vulnerable incumbents in several other key states.

Both sides acknowledged Tuesday night the national importance of the race as they telegraphed their strategies.

Alsobrooks’ need to shore up Democratic support and bring over as many Trone voters as possible is particularly urgent because Hogan is well-liked by Democrats in the state. In a preview of future attack lines, she sought to nationalize the race by tying Hogan to former President Donald Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland.

“The fight ahead will not be easy,” Alsobrooks said. While some Democrats may want to treat the state as safe, she said, “Maryland has been a blue state, but it will only stay a blue state if we put in the work. Because Larry Hogan, his BFF Mitch McConnell, and Donald Trump’s Republican party want to flip this seat.”

Hogan needs to transcend the heavily Democratic state’s partisanship. Some 30 miles away in Annapolis, he cast himself as an independent voice, beholden to neither party.

"I'm gonna run the same way I always run, which is, you know, appeal to Republicans, Democrats and independents," he told reporters on Tuesday night. "I'm just gonna keep being the same guy that they've always voted for."

Both nominees mentioned abortion in their speeches in recognition of its continued power as a major electoral force for Democrats.

"To the women of Maryland, you have my word — I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions, just as I did as your governor for eight years," Hogan said in his election night speech, seeking to neutralize the issue.

Alsobrooks, underscoring her warning about GOP control of the Senate, said that if Hogan is elected, “he will give Republicans the majority that they need to pass a national abortion ban.” Yet even the specter of a grueling general election did not dampen the celebration on Tuesday night.

The atmosphere at Alsobrooks' party at the Martin’s Crosswinds event space — checkered with lime green, her campaign color — bordered on euphoric. With a DJ blasting music, dancing broke out shortly after 9 p.m. Photo slideshows flashed images of Alsobrooks supporters, including Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin, campaigning on the trail, underscoring the depth of her establishment support.

A train of Alsobrooks surrogates took the stage to warm up the already rowdy crowd from Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller to Hoyer to Rep. Glenn Ivey. Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Chris Van Hollen introduced Alsobrooks around 11 p.m. Nearly all the speakers urged supporters to celebrate the win but quickly turn their focus to the general election.

“Making History is not the assignment,” Moore said. “Making history is not what is asked. Meeting the moment is what's asked.”

In many ways, Alsobrooks' victory was a shocking development given she was trailing her primary opponent by double digits less than a month ago.

Alsobrooks ran a disciplined campaign, coalescing establishment support, while Trone proved to be a gaffe-prone opponent. While Trone blanketed the state in ads, he also provided repeated openings for Alsobrooks and to exploit in the final stretch of the campaign — including letting a racial slur slip at a congressional hearing. (Trone apologized and said it was a mistake.)

Hogan is a more polished campaigner who will likely provide fewer such openings for Democrats to capitalize on.

The biggest remaining question is whether Trone will spend more of his personal fortune to keep Maryland's Senate seat in Democratic hands — even if he's not the nominee. He addressed the question at the Baltimore Museum of Industry in his concession speech, which lasted less than two minutes, only by saying the party needed to "come together" in support of Alsobrooks, who he did not mention by name.

“We cannot let the party of Trump take our Senate,” he said and left without taking any questions.