Rep. Jamie Raskin, arguably Maryland’s most popular elected official, officially endorsed Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks over Rep. David Trone in the hotly contested Democratic primary contest for Senate.
In a video released Monday morning, Raskin said Alsobrooks was “going to deliver for the people of Maryland every day as United States senator, at the same time that she's going to be defending democracy and freedom against Donald Trump and the MAGA right.”
The winner of the May 14 primary will likely face former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who faces nominal competition for the Republican nomination, in the fall.
Hogan, a popular two-term governor, made a surprise entrance in the Senate race to replace the retiring Sen. Ben Cardin in February, sending an unexpected jolt to Democrats who suddenly have to defend what was previously thought to be a safe Democratic seat.
The former governor’s entrance in the race has also amped up the urgency among Maryland Democrats to pick the best choice to take on Hogan. The Republican, who enjoys widespread name ID in the state, leads Alsobrooks in a hypothetical matchup 50 percent to 36 percent and Trone by roughly the same margin 49 percent to 37 percent, according to a survey by The Washington Post last week.
The gravity of the contest was urgent in Raskin’s plea to potential Democratic voters.
“If Larry Hogan were to go to the Senate, he’d be another brick in the wall for Donald Trump and his party,” Raskin said.
Raskin is perhaps the most high-profile Democrat in Maryland and gained a national following thanks to his role as manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial. Raskin previously considered running for the Senate seat himself.
The Raskin endorsement signals a bright spot for Alsobrooks, who has trailed the Total Wine and More magnate, who has self-funded his campaign.
It also comes on the heels of Trone issuing an apology late last week for inadvertently using a racial slur during a congressional hearing last week when trying to draw comparisons to President Biden’s tax proposals and those sought by Republicans.
“So this Republican jigaboo that it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” Trone said during the hearing.
He later issued an apology, saying he was “attempting to use the word bugaboo in [the] hearing.” The statement went on to say: “The word has a long dark terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation, and I apologize.”
Trone has gone to great lengths to attract voters in Maryland, a majority-minority state, including emphasizing that he is an advocate of criminal justice reform.
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