Honestly, if you looked at the 2024 map of Maryland, you might’ve thought you were seeing double. You had a former governor, Larry Hogan, who was so popular during his two terms that even Democrats basically liked the guy. Then you had Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County Executive, trying to keep a blue seat blue in a year where every single Senate vote felt like the end of the world for both parties.
People kept calling it a "toss-up" for months. That’s wild for Maryland. We’re talking about a state where Democrats usually cruise to double-digit wins without breaking a sweat. But the md senate race 2024 wasn't a normal cycle.
Why Larry Hogan Wasn't Just Another Republican
Larry Hogan didn't run as a MAGA guy. He couldn't. If he had, the race would have been over in five minutes. Instead, he leaned into his "independent" brand, the same one that helped him survive eight years in Annapolis. He actually broke records. Hogan became the first Republican in Maryland history to pull over one million votes in a Senate race—1,294,344 to be exact.
That’s a massive number. For context, he outperformed the top of his party’s ticket by about 17 points. In places like Anne Arundel and Frederick counties, people actually split their tickets. They voted for Kamala Harris for President and then turned around and checked the box for Hogan.
It almost worked.
But Alsobrooks had a different kind of momentum. She ended up with 1,650,912 votes, which comes out to roughly 54.6% of the total. Hogan finished with 42.8%. While it looks like a comfortable 12-point gap on paper, the sheer amount of money and panic that went into this race tells a different story.
The $100 Million Primary Mess
Before we even got to the general election, the Democratic primary was a bloodbath. You had David Trone, the Total Wine mogul, spending $62 million of his own money.
$62 million. Just on a primary.
He was everywhere. If you turned on a TV in Baltimore or Bethesda, you saw his face. But Alsobrooks played the long game. She focused on the core Democratic base, especially in her home turf of Prince George’s and neighboring Montgomery County. In the end, voters chose the local executive over the deep-pocketed congressman. She took 53.4% of the primary vote, leaving Trone with 42.8%.
Once she cleared that hurdle, the national spotlight shifted. The md senate race 2024 became one of the most expensive things Maryland has ever seen. We are talking about $52 million in outside spending alone. Super PACs like "Maryland’s Future" poured $27 million into helping Hogan, while groups like WinSenate and Women Vote dumped about $18 million into Alsobrooks' corner.
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It All Came Down to Control (and Abortion)
If you ask a political junkie why Hogan lost, they’ll probably say one word: "Control."
Hogan tried to convince voters he would be a "pro-choice" Republican who would codify Roe v. Wade. He even said he’d co-sponsor the bill. But Alsobrooks hammered home a single point in every debate: it doesn't matter what Hogan thinks if his win gives the gavels to the Republican party.
She argued that a Senator Hogan meant a Senate Majority Leader from the GOP. That meant no votes on reproductive rights, no matter what he personally promised. This was a huge deal because Marylanders were also voting on Question 1—a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom—which passed with a massive majority.
The Numbers That Defined the Night
- Total Turnout: 72.84%—Maryland came out to play.
- The Gender Gap: Emerson College polling showed Alsobrooks with a nearly 30-point lead among women.
- The "Hogan Counties": Hogan managed to carry Frederick and Anne Arundel, which is usually unheard of for a Republican in a federal year lately.
- Historical First: Angela Alsobrooks is now the first Black woman to ever represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.
The race felt like a heavyweight fight where one person was fighting the opponent and the other was fighting the state's own history. Hogan was popular, sure. But in a presidential year, the "D" next to a name in Maryland is a heavy-duty shield.
Alsobrooks didn't just win; she solidified a new era. She and Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware became the first two Black women to serve in the Senate at the same time. That’s not just a stat—it’s a shift in the region's political DNA.
What This Means for Your Next Vote
If you're looking at this and wondering what’s next, keep an eye on how Alsobrooks positions herself in D.C. She’s coming in with a mandate from the urban and suburban hubs. Hogan, meanwhile, has shown that a moderate Republican can still be competitive in deep-blue territory, even if they can't quite cross the finish line.
Keep a close watch on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings for the next cycle. The "Trone Model" of self-funding proved it has limits, while the "Alsobrooks Model" of early institutional endorsements and grassroots ground games is now the blueprint. You should also check out the Maryland State Board of Elections website if you want to see the precinct-level data of how your specific neighborhood voted; it's often surprising how purple some "blue" areas actually are.