Angela Alsobrooks He is running a groundbreaking campaign in the Maryland U.S. Senate race and is poised to make history as the state’s first Black U.S. Senator if elected. He has a distinguished record of public service – serving as Prince George’s County State’s Attorney for eight years before being twice elected as County Executive.alsobrooks She now aims to bring her experience to Congress and will be among the few Black women to serve there.

Latest survey conducted by Washington Post and the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) He shows he has a strong double-digit lead over his Republican opponent, former Gov. Larry Hogan. In October, Alsobrooks had 52% of the vote among likely voters, while Hogan had 40% and Libertarian candidate Mike Scott trailed with 4%. Despite Hogan’s intense advertising campaigns, Alsobrooks’ lead has remained steady since September. “The overall margin is about the same,” CDCE Director Michael Hanmer said, as both parties focus on wooing 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 important than ever. While more voters in Maryland currently view Hogan as the stronger candidate on economic issues, Alsobrooks has a significant lead on health and reproductive rights issues that resonate widely with her base. CDCE data shows that their messaging about the Senate’s role in protecting reproductive rights appealed to many Maryland voters; a sentiment that Hogan has tried to counter effectively, according to analysts.

Alsobrooks’ campaign is historic: If elected, she would be Maryland’s first Black female senator and one of the few Black women to serve in the Senate’s 235-year history. “People like me can’t get into the Senate, but we should,” Alsobrooks said in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, noting the systemic barriers Black women face in reaching high political office. “We have only elected two (Black women) to the Senate, and only three have ever served, so it was a pleasure to get up on that stage and represent so many people whose voices I believe are underrepresented in the Senate. And it was a great moment,” he told ESSENCE about his speech.

Historical context matters: Carol Moseley Braun was the first Black woman elected to the Senate in 1992, followed by Kamala Harris in 2016. But in 2023, California’s Laphonza Butler became the third Black woman appointed to the Senate to complete Dianne Feinstein’s term. He does not intend to run for a full term. If Alsobrooks is successful, she could join Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who is also running for the Senate, and together they could potentially reshape the Senate with a historic level of Black female representation.

Alsobooks told ESSENCE that her journey into public service was inspired in part by Kamala Harris, then a district attorney in San Francisco, whom she first read about in a book. Self Article from 2009. “I read a story Self There was a magazine about a district attorney using new ideas to keep his community safe, Alsobrooks recalled. Inspired, she began incorporating restorative justice principles into her own work, looking for ways to reimagine criminal justice and expand access to opportunity.

From economic opportunity to access to health care, Alsobrooks says he sees his candidacy as a way to enact meaningful change. Her platform focuses on expanding reproductive rights, access to health care, and educational resources for Marylanders. Alsobrooks also supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship and has publicly criticized Trump-era tax cuts and called for higher corporate tax rates to fund programs for working families rather than corporate interests.

The stakes remain high for Alsobrooks, who is campaigning to represent Maryland and amplify the voices of diverse communities in the Senate. Marylanders will soon make decisions on Nov. 5 that will determine the course of the state’s future in Washington.