County Executive Alsobrooks Aims To Become Maryland's First Black U.S. Senator

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — County Executive Angela Alsobrooks on Tuesday announced via video her intention to run for the U.S. Senate. She joins a group of Maryland lawmakers eager to enter the race after Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) announced he would not seek re-election at the end of his third term.

Maryland's congressional delegation is currently all men. And no Black person has ever represented Maryland in the U.S. Senate.

As the youngest and first woman to be elected Prince George's County State's Attorney, Alsobrooks created a first-of-its-kind unit to investigate and prosecute police and official misconduct. During her time at the helm, violent crime in the county dropped by 50 percent.

In 2018, Alsobrooks was elected Prince George’s County Executive, the first woman to hold the position and the first Black woman elected to the office of county executive in Maryland history.

“There aren’t a lot of people like me in the U.S. Senate – people who live like, think like and who look like the people they’re supposed to represent, but isn’t it time that changed?” Alsobrooks said. “I’m running to be a voice for families like the ones I grew up with and who I’ve worked for my entire life.”

Alsobrooks was born and raised in Prince George’s County. Her father was a newspaper distributor and her mother worked as a hospital receptionist. She said she was encouraged by her great-grandmother to know her family’s history and not to sit on the sidelines, but "go farther and do better.”

The video announcement expressing her intentions included a story about her great-grandfather, who she says was shot and killed in 1956 by a police officer after a dispute.

Alsobrooks joins Councilmember Will Jawando and David Trone in the race for U.S. Senate.