Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a leading critic of former President Donald Trump, announced on March 25 his endorsement of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks for the U.S. Senate.
“She’s going to deliver for the people of Maryland every day as United States senator at the same time, she’s going to be defending democracy against Donald Trump and the MAGA right,” he said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
MAGA stands for Make America Great Again—which is former President Trump’s movement.
Mr. Raskin went on to say that former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the likely GOP nominee, would be “another brick in the wall” for President Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, “and his party.”
However, Mr. Hogan is critical of the former president and said during an event hosted by Axios that he will not vote for President Trump or President Joe Biden. Mr. Hogan did not vote for President Trump or his Democrat opponents in 2016 and 2020.
“For too long, Republican voters have been denied a real debate about what our party stands for beyond loyalty to Mr. Trump,“ he said last year. ”A cult of personality is no substitute for a party of principle.”
Mr. Raskin said that Ms. Alsobrooks would defend abortion and “the right of the people to vote.”
He added, “This not a time when anybody can afford to sit on the sidelines.”
Ms. Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) are the top Democrat candidates in the race. I was considered a safe Democrat seat until Mr. Hogan, who was popular as governor, threw his hat in the ring. Mr. Trone is currently the frontrunner, according to multiple polls.
However, Mr. Hogan would defeat both Ms. Alsobrooks and Mr. Trone, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released on March 20.
Were the 2024 election held today, Mr. Hogan would beat Mr. Trone by 49 percent to 37 percent, and Ms. Alsobrooks by 50 percent to 36 percent.
The primary is on May 14.
Simultaneously, the poll shows that 55 percent of Maryland voters want the Democrats to control the Senate, while 35 percent want the GOP to control it.
Additionally, the poll shows Mr. Trone, who has been in Congress since 2019, ahead of Ms. Alsobrooks by 34 percent to 27 percent. However, 39 percent are undecided.
Mr. Hogan, who was Maryland’s governor from 2015 to 2023, announced his Senate bid last month.
In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, Mr. Hogan said he is running for the sake of the country, not a political party.
“And that is why I have made the decision to run for the United States Senate,” he continued. “Not to serve one party, but to try to be part of the solution to fix our nation’s broken politics and fight for Maryland.”
Mr. Hogan lamented the status quo in Washington.
“Like the exhausted majority of Marylanders, I’m completely fed up with politics as usual,” he said. “The politicians in Washington seem to be more interested in arguing than actually getting anything done for the people they represent.
“Enough is enough. We can do so much better—but not if we keep electing the same kind of typical partisan politicians,” said Mr. Hogan.
“This is a fight for Maryland and America’s future. And that is a fight worth fighting.”
He said the fighting is not only between Republicans and Democrats; it is also “about the difference between right and wrong.”
Mr. Hogan cited his record as governor.
“We overcame unprecedented challenges, cut taxes eight years in a row, balanced the budget, and created a record surplus,” he said. “And we did it all by finding common ground for the common good.”
The former governor had not been expected to run for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who announced his retirement last year after more than 17 years in Congress.
