Black Women in Politics: Angela Alsobrooks Leads in Polls and Wants to Make History in Maryland Senate Race – Essence

Angela Alsobrooks is running a breakthrough campaign in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race and is poised to make history because the state’s first Black senator if elected. With a distinguished background in public service – she served as Prince George’s County State’s Attorney for eight years before being elected twice as county executive – Alsobrooks now intends to bring her experience to Congress, where she could be one among the few Black women to ever serve in that role.

The latest poll from the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) shows her a robust double-digit lead over her Republican opponent, former Gov. Larry Hogan. In October, Alsobrooks polled with 52% of likely voters, compared to Hogan’s 40%, and Libertarian candidate Mike Scott was polling at lower than 4%. Despite Hogan’s intense promoting campaigns, Alsobrooks’ advantage has continued since September. “The overall margin is about the same,” CDCE Director Michael Hanmer said, as each side give attention to influencing undecided voters in this high-stakes race.

This race could determine party control of the U.S. Senate, making issues like abortion and economic policy more essential than ever. While more Maryland voters now view Hogan because the stronger candidate on economic issues, Alsobrooks has significant benefits on health care and reproductive rights, topics that widely share her views. CDCE data suggests her comments in regards to the Senate’s role in protecting reproductive rights resonated with many citizens in Maryland, something analysts say Hogan struggled to rise up to.

Alsobrooks’ campaign is historically significant: If elected, she would turn out to be Maryland’s first Black female senator and one among the few Black women to serve in the Senate in its 235-yr history. “People like me don’t get to the Senate, and we should,” Alsobrooks emphasized in her speech on the Democratic National Convention in August, calling attention to the systemic barriers Black women face in reaching high political office. “We only chose two [Black women] for the Senate and has only won three seats so far, so it was a joy to get on that stage and represent so many people whose voices I felt were underrepresented in the Senate. And it was a great moment,” she told ESSENCE about her speech.

The historical context is important: Carol Moseley Braun was the primary Black woman elected to the Senate in 1992, followed by Kamala Harris in 2016. In 2023, California’s Laphonza Butler became the third Black woman in the Senate, appointed to finish Dianne Feinstein’s term. he doesn’t intend to run for the complete term. If Alsobrooks is successful, she could join Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who can also be running for Senate, and together they might potentially transform the Senate with historic levels of black women’s representation.

Alsobooks told ESSENCE that her journey into public service was inspired in part by Kamala Harris, then the district attorney of San Francisco, whom she first examine in a 2009 article. “I read a magazine article about a district attorney using new ideas to keep his community safe,” Alsobrooks recalled. Inspired, she began to incorporate restorative justice principles into her own work, in search of ways to rethink the criminal justice system and expand access to opportunity.

Alsobrooks says he sees his candidacy as a way to effect meaningful change, from economic opportunity to access to health care. Her platform focuses on expanding reproductive rights, access to health care and educational resources for Marylanders. Alsobrooks also supports comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, and has been openly critical of the Trump-era tax cuts, calling for higher corporate tax rates to fund programs for working families fairly than corporate interests.

The stakes remain high for Alsobrooks as she campaigns to represent Maryland and amplify the voices of diverse communities in the Senate. Marylanders will soon make a choice on November 5, setting the course for the state’s future in Washington.