马里兰州民主党参议员初选正朝着激烈的结局倾斜，选民们决定在这场出人意料的竞争激烈的深蓝堡垒中提名谁。
乔治王子县行政长官安吉拉·艾尔索布鲁克斯和众议员大卫·特隆是初选的两个主要竞争者，这场初选引发了从政治金钱到选举资格再到民主党对多元化和参议院控制权的承诺等各种问题的辩论。初选将于下周二，即5月14日举行。
道达尔葡萄酒公司富有的创始人特隆莫尔是第三任国会议员，他在竞选中投入了超过5000万美元的个人资金，获得了国会同事的支持，并暗示Alsobrooks还没有为联邦政治的主要联盟做好准备。
Alsobrooks是一名黑人女性，她监管着马里兰州首都郊区最大的县之一(也是美国最富裕的黑人占多数的县之一)，她获得了当地政界人士的支持，同时将自己塑造成一名超然的草根竞争者。
投票显示候选人势均力敌。根据马里兰州民主党初选中538的平均投票率截至5月10日，特龙的支持率为44.3%，而布鲁克斯的支持率为38.7%。
获胜者可能会面对广受欢迎的前共和党州长拉里·霍根(Larry Hogan)，他在最后一刻的候选人资格将这场比赛从民主党人专栏中的一场令人昏昏欲睡的比赛变成了民主党人必须在美国最蓝的州之一进行的一场比赛——除了参议院的控制权之外，一切都岌岌可危。
“比赛非常不稳定。如果我们在一个月前进行这样的对话，我会说大卫·特隆有明显的优势。但县行政长官Alsobrooks最近在这里的表现很好，”马里兰州民主党资深策略师Len Foxwell说。他在接受美国广播公司新闻采访后在X上的一篇帖子中说，他更喜欢“两位候选人——只是特朗”。"
福克斯韦尔说:“我认为现在胜负难料。”
特龙突然出现，他的资金雄厚，几乎是任何地方的任何候选人都难以企及和复制的。他在航空公司铺天盖地地投放广告，以9比1的支出优势击败对手。特隆和支持他的团体在竞选中花费了至少4500万美元的广告费用，迅速超过了支持她的Alsobrooks和团体，后者投入了至少560万美元的广告费用。无党派广告追踪公司广告影响力.
最重要的是，特龙得到了众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯等国会重量级人物的支持。
然而，在过去的几周里，他犯了一个错误。他口误说了一个种族诽谤的词，而不是“bugaboo”，引发了一波负面头条新闻，并为Alsobrooks带来了更多支持。此外，最近一则支持特龙的广告中有一位支持者说参议院不是那些需要“训练轮”的人的地方——批评者称这是对Alsobrooks的一记重击。
Trone为这个口误道歉，说他不知道这个词是种族诽谤。周二晚上，Trone说“训练轮”的评论是支持者支持的评论，而不是他做出的评论。
然而，Alsobrooks竞选团队将ABC新闻指向了最近接受WRC-TV采访Trone说“这份工作不适合坐在训练车上的人。”
ABC新闻已经联系了特隆竞选团队进行评论。
“坦率地说，(Alsobrooks)没有联邦层面的经验，”Trone补充说-also brooks的支持者认为这是一个错误。
周四，在马里兰州河谷镇公园被问及Trone对她经验水平的攻击时，Alsobrooks告诉ABC新闻，比赛的激烈程度引发了他的言论。
Alsobrooks对记者说:“事实的真相是，因为我们正在赢得比赛，他现在转向了负面攻击。”
“我的对手花了6200万美元试图购买这场比赛-在听说了我的经历、我的记录和我对这个州的愿景之后，”Alsobrooks补充说。
Alsobrooks正面临着一项艰巨的任务，即通过在民主党众议员杰米·拉斯金(Jamie Raskin)和福克斯韦尔所谓的州民主机器成员等受欢迎的立法者中获得支持，与国会最富有的成员之一进行竞争。
“(Alsobrooks)是完美的内部人士，在安纳波利斯俱乐部内部拥有深厚的关系，”他说。“我们看到的是民主党政治阶层和马里兰州所有民主党领导人的所有这些广告都聚集在(Alsobrooks)身后。”
Alsobrooks的候选人资格具有明显的历史意义，特别是在一个超过30%的人口是黑人的州。在副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯离开白宫后，黑人女性人数从1人减少到0人，目前没有黑人女性在参议院任职。
“黑人女性应该参与所有决策领域。全美有色人种协进会竞选活动副主席张秀坤·怀特黑德在给美国广播公司的一份声明中说:“到2024年，我们目前没有一名黑人女性在美国参议院任职，这是可耻的。”
综合来看，两位候选人相互冲突的诉求为一场选举埋下了伏笔。观察人士表示，布鲁克斯或特隆都可能获胜。
霍根在竞选中表现突出，他在30多年里没有参加过总统竞选或联邦公职竞选，但他在赢得民主党选民方面有着良好的记录，这使得与这位连任两届的前州长的竞选成为竞选的核心，而不是Alsobrooks和Trone之间任何微小的政策分歧。
马里兰大学民主与公民参与中心主任迈克尔·汉默(Michael Hanmer)说:“对他们来说，这个过程的很大一部分是弄清楚谁最有机会在11月获胜，因为参议院很可能会以某种方式被削减几个席位。”
周二晚上，在马里兰州银泉市一家电影院举行的集会上，特隆领导了一场“打败霍根!”钱特说，他的记录和经验意味着他有能力在大选中获胜，尽管他一直在努力与艾尔索布鲁克斯区分开来。
“这次选举，美国参议院岌岌可危。我们的民主可能岌岌可危，”特龙告诉人群。
对选民的采访显示，他们特别关注明年共和党对参议院的控制，以及谁可能给霍根带来更严峻的挑战。
马里兰州波托马克的选民伊丽莎白·米勒(Elizabeth Miller)说:“我认为现在我很难支持共和党候选人。”米勒对“我们政治领域的更大组成”表示担忧，并表示她在初选中投票给特龙。
“我肯定会投民主党的票，因为控制参议院对我来说是一件大事，”18岁的首次投票者麦肯齐·金诺尔补充说。周二，当美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)询问他支持谁时，他仍在决定支持谁。
在民主党的内讧中，共和党人迫不及待地想让霍根参加今年11月的大选投票。
参议员史蒂夫。戴恩斯。R。蒙特。全国共和党参议员委员会主席上周表示，霍根作为与前总统唐纳德·特朗普和总统乔·拜登都决裂的“特立独行者”的有利民调和姿态将使他在11月的选举中具有竞争力。
“作为一名在蓝色州受欢迎的两届共和党州长，他有一种特立独行的风格。马里兰人他们信任他。他有良好的记录。戴恩斯在华盛顿特区的《基督教科学箴言报》早餐会上说
戴恩斯附和参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔上周告诉政治他认为马里兰州与俄亥俄州、蒙大拿州和宾夕法尼亚州一样，在这次选举中支持共和党。
但538的高级选举分析师纳撒尼尔·拉基奇(Nathaniel Rakich)给共和党在马里兰州的回升前景泼了一些冷水。
“2020年，只有一个州投票支持不同的政党竞选总统和参议员。2016年，没有一个人这样做。也许今年可能会在一个摇摆州发生，但马里兰州在2020年以33个百分点的优势投票给拜登，他可能会在2024年以类似的优势赢得选举。拉基奇说:“参议院候选人的表现超出本党总统候选人这么多，这几乎是闻所未闻的。”
Maryland primary to set up unexpectedly tight Senate race
Maryland's Democratic Senate primary is careening toward a bitter finish as voters decide who to nominate in an unexpectedly competitive race in the deep blue bastion.
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone are the two main contenders in a primary that has sparked debates over everything from money in politics to electability to Democrats' commitment to diversity to Senate control. The primary election is next Tuesday, May 14.
Trone, the wealthy founder of Total Wine& More and congressman in his third term, has dumped more than $50 million of his own money into the race, has racked up endorsements from congressional colleagues and has insinuated that Alsobrooks isn't ready for the major leagues of federal politics.
Alsobrooks, a Black woman who oversees one of Maryland's largest counties in the suburbs of the nation's capital (which is also one of the country's richest majority Black counties) has consolidated support from local politicos while casting herself as an above-the-fray, grassroots contender.
Polling shows the candidates locked in a close race. According to538's polling average in the Maryland Democratic primaryas of May 10, Trone is polling at 44.3%, while Alsobrooks follows with 38.7%.
The victor will likely face popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, whose 11th-hour candidacy turned the race from a sleepy affair safely in Democrats' column to a race Democrats have to sweat in one of the country's bluest states -- with nothing short of Senate control at stake.
"The race is very fluid. If we were having this conversation a month ago, I'd say that there's a clear advantage for David Trone. But County Executive Alsobrooks has had a good run here as of late," said longtime Maryland Democratic strategist Len Foxwell, who, after speaking with ABC News for this story, said in a post on X that he liked "both candidates – just Trone "a little better."
"I think it's a toss-up right now," Foxwell said.
Trone burst onto the scene with a war chest that would prove hard for Alsobrooks to match and for virtually any candidate anywhere to replicate, blitzing the airways with advertisements as part of a nine-to-one spending advantage over his opponent. Trone and groups supporting him have spent at least $45 million on advertising in the race, rapidly eclipsing Alsobrooks and groups supporting her, who put in at least $5.6 million on advertising,per nonpartisan ad tracking firm Ad Impact.
On top of that, Trone has the backing of congressional heavy hitters such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
However, he has been tripped up in the past few weeks. A verbal slip up in which he uttered a racial slur instead of the word "bugaboo" sparked a wave of negative headlines and ushered more endorsements to Alsobrooks. Also, a recent ad supporting Trone featured one supporter saying the Senate is not a place for those who need "training wheels" -- a swipe at Alsobrooks that critics said was a punch below the belt.
Trone apologized for the verbal slip, saying he didn't know the word was a racial slur. On Tuesday night, Trone said that the "training wheels" comment is one the supporter stands by, not one he made.
However, the Alsobrooks campaign pointed ABC News to arecent interview with WRC-TVwhere Trone said "this job is not for someone on training wheels."
ABC News has reached out to the Trone campaign for comment.
"And frankly, [Alsobrooks] doesn't have the experience at the federal level," Trone added -- a mea culpa Alsobrooks' supporters panned as inadequate.
Asked about the Trone's attacks on her experience level in Riverdale Park, Maryland, on Thursday, Alsobrooks told ABC News that the tightening of the race triggered his remarks.
"The truth of the matter is because we are on course to win the race, he's now turned to negative attacks," Alsobrooks said to reporters.
"My opponent has spent $62 million trying to buy this race -- after hearing about my experience, hearing about my record and about my vision for the state," Alsobrooks added.
Alsobrooks is facing the daunting task of matching up against one of Congress' wealthiest members by building support among popular lawmakers such as Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and members of what Foxwell called the state Democratic machine.
"[Alsobrooks] is the consummate insider [with] deep relationships inside the Annapolis clubhouse," he said. "What we're seeing is the Democratic political class and all these ads from the entire constellation of Democratic leaders in Maryland coming together behind [Alsobrooks]."
Alsobrooks' candidacy has clear historic significance, especially in a state where more than 30% of the population is Black. No Black women currently serve in the Senate, after their already minuscule ranks dwindled from one to zero, after Vice President Kamala Harris departed for the White House.
"Black women deserve to be in all spaces where decisions are being made. It is shameful that in 2024, we do not currently have a Black woman serving in the United States Senate," Dominik Whitehead, NAACP Vice President of Campaigns said in a statement to ABC News.
Taken together, the clashing appeals of the two candidates have set the stage for a race that observers said either Alsobrooks or Trone could win.
Towering over the race is Hogan, who hasn't run in a presidential year or for federal office in more than 30 years, but has a track record of winning over Democratic voters, making electability against the two-term former governor the heartbeat of the race rather than any of the minimal policy disagreements between Alsobrooks and Trone.
"A big part of the process for them is figuring out who has the best chance to win in November because it's likely that the Senate is going to be chipped by a few seats one way or the other," said Michael Hanmer, the director of the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
At a Tuesday night rally at a movie theater in Silver Spring, Maryland, Trone led a "beat Hogan!" chant and said that his record and experience means he has what it takes to win in the general election, even as he struggled to differentiate himself from Alsobrooks.
"This election, the U.S. Senate is at stake. Our democracy could be at stake," Trone told the crowd.
Interviews with voters revealed a particular attention to party control of the Senate next year and who could give Hogan a tougher challenge.
"I think right now, it's really hard for me to support Republican candidates in general," said Potomac, Maryland, voter Elizabeth Miller, who voiced worries about the "greater composition of our political sphere" and said she voted for Trone in the primary.
"I'm for sure voting Democrat just because having control in the Senate is such a big deal for me," added 18-year-old first-time voter Mackenzie Kinol, who was still deciding who to support when asked by ABC News on Tuesday.
Amid the Democratic infighting, Republicans are chomping at the bit to have Hogan on their general election ballot this November.
Sen. Steve Daines R-Mont., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said last week that Hogan's favorable polling and posture as a "maverick" who breaks with both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden would make him competitive in November.
"He has a maverick kind of brand as a popular two-term Republican governor in a blue state. Marylanders -- they trust him. He's got a proven track record. And Larry Hogan is just a terrific candidate," Daines said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Daines echoed Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, whotold Politico last weekthat he thought Maryland was in play for Republicans this cycle, along with Ohio, Montana and Pennsylvania.
But Nathaniel Rakich, senior elections analyst at 538, threw some cold water on Republican's Maryland pickup prospects.
"In 2020, only one state voted for different parties for president and Senate. In 2016, none did. Perhaps it could happen this year in a swing state, but Maryland voted for Biden by 33 percentage points in 2020, and he will probably win it by a similar margin in 2024. A Senate candidate overperforming his party's presidential candidate by that much is virtually unheard of," Rakich said.
