MOCO360: Prince George’s exec also picks up the backing of five MoCo state legislators in race vs. David Trone.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced on Sunday the endorsement from her Montgomery County counterpart, Marc Elrich, in her bid for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Baltimore).
Elrich’s endorsement came a couple of days after Alsobrooks claimed the backing of five more state legislators from Montgomery County–the home jurisdiction of her leading rival in the Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. David Trone of Potomac.
Elrich and Alsobrooks have both been in their current posts since 2018.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Angela these last several years as we led the state’s two largest jurisdictions through an unprecedented global pandemic, and what I can tell you is that her care and concern has always extended beyond the borders of her county,” Elrich said in a press release issued by the Alsobrooks campaign.
He added: “She has a passion for our residents and she brings strength and skill to the job. She understands the importance of worker rights and the need for a decent wage and its importance to a healthy economy. We need her advocacy and leadership in the U.S. Senate.”
Throughout his lengthy career in Montgomery County politics, Elrich has often been a political lightning rod: He won the Democratic primary for county executive by a mere 77 votes in 2018–followed by an even slimmer 32-vote margin in his race for nomination to a second term last year.
Nonetheless, as a long-time outspoken figure on the left wing of the local Democratic Party, Elrich’s endorsement could provide a boost for Alsobrooks as she and Trone woo Democratic progressive voters who were left up for grabs following the July decision by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Takoma Park to take a pass on the Senate race. Progressive Democrat and at-large Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando of Silver Spring announced that he was dropping his Senate bid. Jawando has since endorsed Alsobrooks.
The five Montgomery state legislators who endorsed Alsobrooks on Friday included District 16 Del. Marc Korman of Bethesda, who chairs the House of Delegates’ influential Environment and Transportation Committee.
“County Executive Alsobrooks has been a leader in building up Prince George’s County infrastructure from the public schools to public facilities along the Blue Line Corridor,” Korman said in a news release from the Alsobrooks campaign. “We need that kind of effective creativity helping the entire state in the Senate.”
Along with Korman, Alsobrooks received the endorsements of District 16 Del. Sara Love of Bethesda–who signaled her support with a $500 contribution to the Alsobrooks campaign last month, according to Federal Election Commission filings—as well as from all three delegates representing District 18: Aaron Kaufman of Chevy Chase and Emily Shetty and Jared Solomon, both of Kensington.
All told, Alsobrooks now leads Trone in endorsements among in the 35-member Montgomery
County state legislative delegation–with 14 legislators on record as supporting her, compared to 10 for Trone.
Among the county’s nine state senators, five–Ariana Kelly of Bethesda, representing District16; Jeff Waldstreicher of Kensington, District 18; Ben Kramer of Derwood, District 19; Will Smith of Silver Spring, District 20; and Katie Fry-Hester of Ellicott City—have endorsed Alsobrooks. Fry-Hester is a Howard County resident whose District 9 seat includes part of northern Montgomery County.
State Senate Majority Leader Nancy King of Montgomery Village, who represents District 39, has endorsed Trone, as has District 15 Sen. Brian Feldman of Potomac.
The five House of Delegates members who announced their backing of Alsobrooks on Friday joined four other legislators: District 14 Dels. Anne Kaiser of Silver Spring and Pamela Queen of Olney, along with District 19 Del. Charlotte Crutchfield and District 20 Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, both of Silver Spring.
Montgomery County delegates backing Trone include Linda Foley of Potomac, David Fraser-Hidalgo of Boyds, and Lily Qi of North Potomac, all representing District 15; Ryan Spiegel of Gaithersburg, District 17; Lesley Lopez of Germantown and Greg Wims of Gaithersburg, District 39; and Chao Wu and Natalie Ziegler, both of Clarksville. Wu and Ziegler are Howard County residents whose District 9A district includes a slice of northern Montgomery.
The 11-person Montgomery County Council includes two members who have endorsed Alsobrooks: Jawando and District 7 Councilmember Dawn Luedtke of Ashton.
Although no Montgomery County Council members are on record as backing Trone, he has won endorsements from several elected officials in one of the county’s largest municipalities, Gaithersburg–including Mayor Jud Ashman and Councilmembers Neil Harris, Jim McNulty and Robert Wu.
Alsobrooks, vying to become the first Black person to represent Maryland in the Senate, has been banking on a strategy of piling up endorsements, and is now backed by much of the state’s Democratic establishment—including Gov. Wes Moore, U.S, Sen, Chris Van Hollen, a Montgomery County resident, and three members of the Maryland U.S. House delegation: District 4 Rep. Glenn Ivey of Prince George’s County, District 5 Rep. Steny Hoyer of St. Mary’s County, and District 7 Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Baltimore.
Trone, who has lined up endorsements from more than 60 of his congressional colleagues outside of Maryland, is a multimillionaire businessman who co-owns a nationwide retail chain of alcohol beverage stores, Total Wine & More.
He recently told MoCo360 that he will spend “what it takes” to win. So far, he has pumped nearly $10 million of his personal fortune into the campaign–much of it for a statewide TV and digital ad campaign months before the May primary—and is said to be prepared to spend upwards of $40 million of own assets.
