Democrat David Trone's wallet is a lot lighter this morning, as Angela Alsobrooks brought an expensive end to the multimillionaire's political career by securing the Democratic nomination for the Maryland U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Ben Cardin (D). Alsobrooks, who currently serves as Prince George's County Executive, would be the first Black person to represent her state in the U.S. Senate if she wins in November. Standing between her and victory is popular former governor Larry Hogan (R), who also won his primary last night.
While the victory of Alsobrooks followed the trends of her party in the state's recent elections, the favoring of younger and more-progressive candidates did not extend to the 6th Congressional District race, as April McClain Delaney defeated fellow Democrat Joe Vogel. The McClain Delaney-David Trone-John Delaney arc begs the question: has this seat simply become the plaything of the rich? One has to be wistful for the days of farmer Roscoe Bartlett (R), who - God bless him - is still living his best life at the age of 97 after being gerrymandered out of the seat in 2012. A congressperson who thought it was wrong for the government to spy on its own citizens - imagine that!
The surprise of the night in the 6th was the decisive victory of Neil Parrott on the Republican side of that contest. Former gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox was expected to win, or at least come close, after his high-profile endorsement by Donald Trump two years ago. Now spending most of his days in a Manhattan courtroom, and without his nemesis Hogan facing Cox this time, Trump did not weigh in on the 6th District race.
Cox has a strong and loyal following among his supporters, establishing a real movement among Christian conservatives and America First Republicans, even if downsized from 2022. While Tuesday's loss may add to doubts about his future statewide potential, it's unlikely you've heard the last of the attorney and former delegate on the political stage. Parrott will now need to maintain his momentum - and money, money and more money - to stay competitive with McClain Delaney this fall. The 6th District remains severely gerrymandered in strong favor of Democrats. A majority on the U.S. Supreme Court seem to be fine with that, as long as they don't have to undo the red state gerrymandering that has helped Republicans win more seats in Congress than they otherwise would have in recent years.
In the 8th Congressional District, Cheryl Riley defeated Michael Yadeta in a blowout victory. She will face incumbent Jamie Raskin (D) in November.
Can Alsobrooks beat Hogan? Absolutely, if all of the Democrats, independents and Republican women fired up about Roe v. Wade turn out like they did nationally in 2022 and 2023. Out-of-state groups supporting abortion rights were already engaged on her behalf in the primary, and those cash spigots will almost surely be fully-opened after Labor Day. You will hear the word "abortion" coming out of your TV speakers non-stop starting around that time, and lasting through Election Day in November.
With Black voters holding real power in Maryland, Alsobrooks' potential history-making win is another point in her favor. And she clearly has keen political senses and organizational skills, having just run one of the biggest upset campaigns in recent Maryland history.
At the same time, Hogan has to like the result last night. Alsobrooks doesn't have the Trone fortune at her disposal, while Hogan will have a bounty of GOP dark money flowing in from out of state. Trone had much more appeal to older, moderate and independent voters than Alsobrooks will; those demographics are now in Hogan's corner again.
Hogan enjoyed strong bipartisan support during his time as governor; Alsobrooks has not in her time as executive or state's attorney. She also doesn't have the statewide name recognition Hogan has. And because she has served in an executive role, Alsobrooks has a record with some weak spots that Hogan or his surrogates can target to a greater extent than Trone's would have provided.
Hogan was limited in what he could do while governor, as his power was greatly restricted by the Democratic legislature. But the things he did do, such as stopping tax hikes or reducing tolls, helped everyone, and voters across a diverse spectrum are likely to remember that at a time when wallets are being crushed by inflation. Barring a Roy McGrath October Surprise, Hogan is going to run a competitive race, and it will be the most-watched contest in the nation outside of Trump vs. Biden.
The most closely-watched races in Montgomery County were for the Board of Education. With the school system, student safety, and student performance continuing to trend downward, and a contentious debate over parents' ability to have their kids opt-out of some curriculum content, a number of insurgent candidates entered the contests to take on the establishment. Election results are so far showing none of the "opt-out" candidates prevailing, and two out of the three teacher's union Apple Ballot candidates are currently winning.
Apple Ballot choice Rita Montoya is in a tight At-Large race with incumbent Lynne Harris, as ballots continue to arrive and be counted. Election results show Montoya seemed to perform best with voters who cast their ballots in person, while Harris excelled among those voting by mail. Mailed-in votes will continue to be delivered to the Board of Elections in the days ahead.
But David Trone spending $60 million of his own fortune and losing is probably the biggest headline this morning. The private jets, the Ferraris, the lavish mansions that the rest of us could have bought if we had that money... Or the sick who could have been cured, the homeless that could have housed, and the children who could have been educated... Our political system is totally corrupt, and our bank vault-busting election spending is only one of the notable symptoms.
29 comments:
Mixed feelings re Trone. IMO he was a 'glad handler,' more about himself than making difficult decisions that need to be made. 300 plus bucks per vote, it's a testament to Alsobrooks more pedestrian campaign.
But, in the end Hogan should and will prevail. What no one is talking yet about is how well Ficker did!
It appears that many Conservatives who have to go along with Hogan, really want more Conservative values than Hogan can muster up. I just never liked or trusted Trone.
Great point about Bartlett. Alsobrooks is the most bizarre surname. She's done nothing. PG County is a disgrace. Hogan is GOP lite and a never Trumper. You'd think that alone would be enough here. Larry Hogan was one of the most successful governor's in the country during his first term at least with an approval above 75%. What has she done? He's students graduate yet can't read. Watch for huge out of town money to pour in to her coffers. MD in play for once in a long time.
Trone spending $60 million of his own money to lose.. way to go, man. If you really cared about anything but accumulating power maybe use that money to help some folks.
If only there was a knowledge base on a huge system of interconnected computers where you could look up the origin of a name. All names are bizarre if you're uneducated.
"What no one is talking yet about is how well Ficker did!"
Because MAGAts hate Hogan and view him as a RINO (even though Trump's "King of Debt," bend the knee to Putin platform has zero overlap with traditional Republican ideals). Which is one of many reasons your claim that Hogan "will prevail" makes little sense. Democrats aren't going to vote for him and many Republicans won't, either. He's a candidate playing for a middle that doesn't exist when it comes to national politics. He's not going to lose as badly as Trump, but it's not going to be a particularly close race, either.
Glad to see Troan lose. Rooting for Hogan but liked Ficker in primary (long shot obviously).
Hogan will become a sellout to the far right once should he get that far, caving under their pressures. He won't have a backbone for the abortion rights of women and this would be his weakness. We IMO, won't have to worry about that, this is the end of the road for him.
Just like a true MAGA, making snide comments about a persons name. Everyone knows what your mindset is all about. Do us all a favor and move south, or WVA.
The trolls are out trying to ward off the slide of Maryland in to being the next California.
Learning.
@10:57 Spot on.
7:44 - uneducated? So, the last name Alsobrooks isn't bizarre? Ok, how bout extremely unusual? How many people do you know with that name? It's alright Hogan can and hopefully will beat her. Dems running scared. Flipping MD would be a huge deal.
10:57 - Those evil MAGA folks. Imagine supporting any candidate who runs on making America great. Only in MoCo where I'm a multi-generation native. Pretty sad what lower Montgomery has become. Ole Biden is in big trouble even Jimmy Carville knows he'll get crushed this fall.
Oh my gosh... you did not just mention that Trump added 7 Trillion dollars to the deficit! How dare you, sir. That is a MAGA secret! You also did NOT just mention that being Governor of a totally blue state is one thing, where Hogan had to work with Democrats , but being a Senator is a completely different dynamic where he'll help push a nation wide abortion ban and and vote with us MAGAts to take away your basic freedoms! You are spying on us sir, and that is not appreciated. In the least!
Gotta hand it to 8:15 STILL spewing the debunked lies about Russia. Good god, man, give it a rest. " bend the knee to Putin platform"
"Hogan will become a sellout to the far right" - Hey, 10:54, I'd love to know where the Far Right is in power. No such thing, unfortunately. And if Hogan wins (hope not) he will do the DC thing - look people in the eye, then lie to them, all the while consolidating his power base, maybe even trying to move up (Chris Christie - like). Pink Floyd had it right about guys like him, many years ago - "With the club tie, the firm handshake, the sudden look in the eye and an easy smile. You have to be trusted, by the people that you lie to - so that when they turn their backs on you - you'll get the chance to put the knife in."
Love this result! Alsobrooks has a good shot at beating Hogan. She’s getting my vote.
So far Trump 's big liabilities are speaking his mind and likes to work in debt. What's are Biden's again? Just wondering... remind me or do I just need to visit Bethesda Naval Hospital, or go to the store, if I dare go out?
8:15 you might be spending a bit too much time in the beltway listening to CNN and NBC.
Playing both sides, 3:10, ain't gonna fix anything.
I don't know anyone with the surname "Trone," either, yet JAC only feels the need to comment negatively about the names and businesses/cuisines of minorities. Robert should seriously consider blocking this trash. Comment sections constantly devolve because of the garbage JAC post. Bethesda Beat literally rewrote their comment policy because of him and the world has been a better place since.
Trump sucks up to and compliments Putin every chance he gets. I've never seen one world leader so beholden to another. Reagan is rolling over in his grave at how puny Republicans have become. Imagine Obama saying the crap Trump does about how amazing Putin is and then maybe your eyes will open.
3:26 not feeding trolls is not playing both sides. Learning
10:08 - Once again, completely faceless and fact less. One commenter can cause an online site to completely remove its commenting feature? No one actually believes that. At no time, on any forum, did I violate posting guidelines remember that. Robert Dyer should can this trash? Shouldn't your comment be the one removed? Never called anyone a name ok? Move on.
Think of what Trone's 60 million vanity dollars could have done.
Now it will all be about race and not results. Too bad.
Sure you didn't, and trumpys a Democrat.
JAC, I am the original poster, and i did not write the above. Glad its catching on for people to call you out.
3:50 - Original poster yet you have, as others to be fair, chosen not to create a handle. How come? Call me out? You don't know if I'm a he first of all. Second, it's all about agreeing, disagreeing, saying that's way off the mark, etc, etc. There's no call out. Just disagree. Just say that you think my comment is inappropriate, not nice, etc then offer your point. Let's try that shall we?
The whole group is a bunch of losers
When will Maryland right it’s downhill spiral - pro criminal losers
Too many Obama government workers moved out to the burbs destroying it
Post a Comment