Sign up to stay connected
Get the top stories of the day around the DMV.
With the backdrop of newly-built housing and an entrance to the Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers’ 2002 gospel hit “The Best Is Yet To Come,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) held a rally officially announcing her bid for the U.S. Senate on May 10.
She told the crowd of roughly 150 supporters that she was proud to have the opportunity to represent not just her County, but the entire State of Maryland in the U.S. Senate.
“Maryland, are you in the house! I’m thanking God for his grace and the opportunity, my family: my daughter, my parents, my sister, and all of my friends,” she said. “I am standing before you to announce my candidacy for the Senate. I am running for the Senate because you know I’ll fight for you, but I think like you and look like you. I recognize I am on this stage and regard it as a great honor, and I’m proud to celebrate the women who made this possible.”
The Senate seat will be vacant, as Senator Ben Cardin (D) is officially retiring at the end of his term.
Just before the event began, Baltimore Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D) announced his endorsement and support for Alsobrooks on Twitter. Mfume previously ran for Senate in 2006 and narrowly lost to Cardin. Mfume also served as the introductory speaker for Alsobrooks. He emphasized the rigors of the campaign from his personal experience, and called on those present to put efforts in to ease those rigors.
“Work, work, work, sleep, work, work. I’m not kidding. Maryland is the biggest small state. 23 counties, every nook and cranny, it’s a lot of work. That’s why I explained that her supporters must be her eyes and ears for her,” the Maryland Congressman said.
Susie Turnbull, the 2018 Lieutenant Governor nominee, spoke on the mic as Alsobrooks arrived. “I have a lot of former in my titles, but I have Angela in our future,” she said. “It’s time that we have a woman in the U.S. Senate, and it’s more than time that this Black woman is in the Senate.”
Gloria Lawlah, retired District 26 Senator, emphasized she is confident Alsobrooks will win.
“We are going to put a Maryland woman back on the Hill. Don’t forget Barbara back in 1986,” she said. “We want a woman who is strong, and will choose right over might. We want a woman that cares, that cares deeply about our families and last but certainly not least, our seniors.”
Lawlah, who also served as Maryland’s Secretary of Aging, believes that Alsobrooks will be a strong voice on Capitol Hill to protect Social Security.
Former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, the first African-American to serve in that role, said he applauds Alsobrooks’ work thus far and knows she will be a strong senator.
“As a law professor from Howard Law, I would give her an A for her performance,” said Leggett. “She knows what she’s doing and she’s coming from a community that has given her the skills to be a Senator. She’s destined for higher heights: let’s make it happen.”
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said Alsobrooks is a “fierce advocate for Prince George’s County people, and she tells it like it is. Always.” He is supporting her because of the care and the compassion she has shown in her Executive tenure, and he pledges to do everything in his power to support her for Senate.
During the rally, Alsobrooks touted her accomplishments of reducing crime as State’s Attorney, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding homeownership and job opportunities and building a new mental health care facility in the County. Her Senate pledges include protecting reproductive rights and voting rights and reducing gun violence.
“The future vision of Maryland is bright, and it’s only getting brighter,” she said.