DNC 2024: Who Is Angela Alsobrooks? Maryland’s Possible First Black Senator

Angela Alsobrooks, a Prince George’s County Executive, is looking to make history in November by becoming Maryland’s first Black senator.

Alsobrooks will speak at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night about her 14-year friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris. Alsobrooks is in a tough race against former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and her speech comes as several democrats in tight election races opted not to attend the DNC.

Alsobrooks is expected to speak leading into prime-time coverage around the same time former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Monday night. The time slot Alsobrooks was given speaks to the importance DNC organizers give her remarks and the parallels between the historic nature of her race and Harris’.

In May, the 53-year-old won the Democratic primary over Representative David Trone. Trone spent $60 million on the primary, making it the most expensive primary election in the state’s history.

While history is on the Democrats’ side in the election since Republicans haven’t won a Senate seat in Maryland in over 40 years, Hogan is a formidable opponent. Hogan left office in 2023 with a 77 percent approval rating, making him one of the most popular governors in the country. His popularity was bipartisan, with an 81 percent approval rating with Democrats, according to a Gonzales Research and Media Services poll in January 2023.

A June poll, however, shows the race between Hogan and Alsobrooks is much tighter than many people expected. A poll of 635 Maryland voters from Public Policy Polling found Alsobrooks is leading the Maryland Senate race 45 percent to 34 percent.

“The fight ahead will not be easy,” Alsobrooks said after winning the primary. “Maryland has been a blue state, but it will only stay a blue state if we put in the work. Because Larry Hogan, his BFF Mitch McConnell, and Donald Trump’s Republican Party want to flip this seat.”

According to her biography, Alsobrooks is the first woman to be elected as Prince George’s County Executive. She began her professional career in 1997 as Prince George’s County Assistant State’s Attorney and became the first full-time prosecutor assigned to handle domestic violence cases.

In 2010, she became the youngest person and first woman elected to serve as the County’s State Attorney.

Alsobrooks graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy and received her law degree from the University of Maryland. She’s also a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member and has one daughter named Alex.

When Harris learned that Alsobrooks won her election in 2010 after running a campaign on policies Harris deployed in San Francisco, the future vice president called to congratulate her, according to The Washington Post. Over the years, Harris and Alsobrooks have helped each other with their campaigns. In June, Alsobrooks appeared at a campaign event with Harris, President Joe Biden and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

“Their relationship that they already have established lends to the excitement that we have in our state,” Karen Darkes, the executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party, told CNN.