Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat, made her way around North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose neighborhood Friday afternoon in a last push to connect with Montgomery County voters before Tuesday’s general election.
“The reason I’m still out here today is because we’re not taking anything for granted, still working to meet every voter and to earn as many votes as we can,” Alsobrooks told MoCo360 in an interview near the retail area of the Pike & Rose neighborhood. “But I feel good that the response that we’ve gotten has been very positive. I think people understand the stakes of the election.”
Alsobrooks and her Republican opponent, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, are vying to fill the seat held by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who announced in May 2023 that he planned to retire at the end of his term. Cardin has served in the Senate for 17 years. The nationally watched race could determine party control of the U.S. Senate.
According to a Washington Post poll released Oct. 21, Alsobrooks was leading Hogan by 12%. The race has been an expensive one, with millions being poured in by political action committees in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Hogan was canvassing in the Baltimore area on Friday. He recently visited Montgomery County with stops at Attman’s Deli in Potomac and the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department.
Alsobrooks was joined Friday by several Montgomery County elected officials, including County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large), state Sen. Linda Foley (D-Dist. 15), state Del. Sara Wolek (D-Dist. 16) and Rockville City Councilmember Adam Van Grack. The Democratic nominee also visited other locations in the county spots, including Rockville Town Center and Wildwood Shopping Center in Bethesda.
“No one knows better than me and my colleagues how much we rely on federal government partners,” Jawando said in an interview during the Pike & Rose canvass. “Having someone in Washington like Angela who knows what we need, around housing, around protecting our immigrant communities, around funding education, protecting a woman’s right to choose, that’s who we need.”
Jawando attempted his own run for the Senate seat, but dropped out in October 2023, immediately endorsing Alsobrooks.
Most of the voters Alsobrooks spoke with at Pike & Rose said they’d already voted for her. They appeared excited to meet the candidate, posing for photos and taking selfies.
According to unofficial data from the state elections board, nearly 40% of eligible, registered Montgomery County voters had cast ballots by mail or through in-person early voting as of Thursday evening.
When asked if she was confident about the outcome of the election, Alsobrooks said she recognizes that many voters still need to cast their ballots.
“I just keep my head down, keep working. And I’m going to work all the way through 8 o’clock on election night,” she said.
Alsobrooks said she spoke with county voters Friday about their top concerns heading into the election.
“Reproductive freedom is a huge issue, and I’m hearing from both women and men who are concerned about their daughters and granddaughters,” Alsobrooks said. “Economic opportunity, I have to say, is the No. 1 issue – affording the cost of living, jobs and growing income … gun violence is a big issue as well.”
Van Grack told MoCo360 that he is supporting Alsobrooks because she reflects the values of his constituents in Rockville.
“Rockville is an area that embraces the things that she stands for,” Van Grack said. “If I talk to people in Rockville, we talk about the need to have reproductive rights, making sure there’s affordable housing, we talk about environmental rights.”
Foley said it’s important for candidates and elected officials to go out and talk to voters and that Friday’s canvass with Alsobrooks made her excited about the election.
“I’m so glad to see her doing this, meeting people where they are, actually interacting with real voters. That’s what this election is all about,” Foley said. “It’s very uplifting to see people meet the candidate. People are excited.”
For more information about the candidates, check out the MoCo360 2024 Voters Guide.
