In Maryland’s Democratic Senate primary, a high-stakes clash between a history-making pick and a candidate with deep pockets

The farmer’s market in this suburb of Washington, DC, was a ripe crowd for Angela Alsobrooks, who’s locked in an increasingly contentious Democratic primary on Tuesday for a Senate seat that’s not guaranteed to stay blue in the fall.

The farmers market in this suburb of Washington, DC, was a ripe crowd for Angela Alsobrooks, who’s locked in an increasingly contentious Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday. “I would really like to see a Black woman in the Senate. It’s about time,” 68-year-old Kathy Pruitt of Takoma Park said as she stood in the pickle line last Saturday. If elected in November, Alsobrooks, the executive of Prince George’s County, could become only the third Black woman ever elected to the Senate. (The one Black woman currently serving — California’s Laphonza Butler — was appointed and isn’t running to stay beyond this year.) Alsobrooks would also add a woman to Maryland’s 10-person congressional delegation, which is all male. First, though, she’d have to defeat one of those men — Democratic Rep. David Trone, the co-owner of Total Wine & More, who has poured about $60 million of his own money into the election so far. “I think it’s going to be a tight race, and I think they both have a path to victory,” said Mileah Kromer, who oversees the Goucher College Poll, noting the potential power of Alsobrooks’ endorsements and Prince George’s County base vs. Trone’s enormous spending advantage. The race has divided Congress, with nearly all of the Maryland delegation backing Alsobrooks and key members of House Democratic leadership backing Trone. The eventual nominee will likely face off against former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, whose popularity in the state could jeopardize Democrats’ chances of holding the seat — and with them, the Senate majority.