BALTIMORE—Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks won the Democrat Senate primary in Maryland on May 14, while April McClain-Delaney and Neil Parrott won the Democrat and Republican primary, respectively, in the state’s Sixth Congressional District —races that could determine which party controls Congress next year.
Ms. Alsobrooks defeated Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) to take on former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who easily won the GOP primary.
The winner of the November race will succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Maryland hasn’t had a Republican in the Senate for nearly four decades.
Ms. Alsobrooks got major endorsements including from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris van Hollen (D-Md.), Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Adrienne Jones, and four of the seven Democrat members of the House from Maryland.
Mr. Trone was endorsed by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and 66 House members, with Rep. C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III (D-Md.) being the only member of the Maryland Congressional delegation to back him.
Ms. Alsobrooks won despite Mr. Trone significantly outraising and outspending her.
Mr. Trone, a millionaire from running an alcohol business, poured more than $54 million of his own money into the race, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
He received $817,000 in outside contributions. He had over $3.7 million on hand.
Ms. Alsobrooks raised almost $7.8 million and spent almost $5.9 million. She had just over $1.9 million remaining.
Mr. Trone and Ms. Alsobrooks ran on similar platforms including passing both immigration and criminal justice reform, protecting access to abortion, advocating for veterans, and preserving American democracy.
They both expressed support for eliminating the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to proceed to pass most legislation in the Senate.
Who Will Succeed Trone?
In the Old Line State’s Sixth Congressional District, which has been represented by Mr. Trone since January 2019, Ms. McClain-Delaney, the wife of former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), defeated more than a dozen candidates including her top rival, Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel.The district encompasses five suburban counties including Montgomery County, which borders the nation’s capital.
It is Maryland’s only swing district, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report having it lean Democrat by 6 percentage points based on the average margins of how the district voted in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
Ms. McClain-Delaney was endorsed by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Mr. Ruppersberger, while Mr. Vogel was backed by 11 members of Congress including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), whose unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign he worked for.
Mr. Vogel and Ms. McClain-Delaney’s platforms were similar as they included protecting access to abortion, advocating for LGBT people like Mr. Vogel himself, and enacting stricter gun laws.
Ms. McClain-Delaney outraised and outspent Mr. Vogel.
Ms. McClain-Delaney raised more than $1.9 million between Oct. 1 and April 24, according to the latest FEC data.
During that period, she spent nearly $1.2 million and has more than $767,000 remaining.
Mr. Vogel raised almost $687,000 between Oct. 1 and April 24, according to the latest data from the FEC. During that period, he spent almost $570,000 and has more than $117,000 on hand.
Mr. Vogel went after Ms. McClain-Delaney for her family being associated with conservative figures including former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
He also criticized her for donating to the campaign of former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
The McClain-Delaney campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the criticisms.
Mr. Vogel and Ms. McClain-Delaney’s platforms were similar as they included protecting access to abortion, advocating for LGBT people like Mr. Vogel himself, and enacting stricter gun laws.
Mr. Parrott, who served in the Maryland House of Delegates between 2011 and 2023 and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2020 and 2022, defeated former Maryland state Del. Dan Cox, who lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to Mr. Moore.
Both ran on similar platforms, including lowering taxes, securing the border, and public safety.
An issue not in their platforms is abortion, which has been a losing issue for the GOP in referendum votes that have enshrined abortion as a fundamental right in the constitutions of states such as Ohio.
Additionally, while Mr. Cox touted his support for former President Donald Trump, Mr. Parrott made no mention of the former president on his website.
President Trump did not endorse in the race.
As of April 24, Mr. Parrott raised more than $271,000 and spent almost $147,000, leaving him with more than $163,000 remaining, according to the FEC.
Additional Races
In Maryland’s Second Congressional District, Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski easily won the Democrat primary. As the district is a blue one, he is all but guaranteed to succeed retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), who has been in Congress since 2003.In the Democrat primary in the state’s Third Congressional District, Maryland state Sen. Sarah Elfreth won over former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who came to fame following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in what is a solidly Democrat district and is therefore all but a lock-in to succeed retiring Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who has been in Congress since 2007. Ms. Elfreth was supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
