Election Day is less than a week away, Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and republican Larry Hogan criss-crossing the state looking for voters running for United States Senate.
Both campaigns see voter-rich Baltimore County as key to winning the November election.
Former Governor Hogan greeted supporters at an early voting center in Perry Hall last week. It was his first stop on the first day of early voting.
“Did you guys all vote?” he asked.
Hogan said he started early voting at Perry Hall in both of his races for governor.
“Baltimore County is very important and this is a very important precinct,” Hogan said. “I did the same when I won the elections in ’14 and ’18. I love coming back. I’m a habit creator.”
John Willis, a former Maryland secretary of state and fellow in residence at the University of Baltimore’s School of Public and International Affairs, said Hogan will go where he can find votes.
“Baltimore County votes more Republican than any other county in the state,” Willis said.
Baltimore County has more than 137,000 registered Republicans in November 2022, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. About 309,000 Democrats are registered.
According to Willis, Hogan also entered the Perry Hall tracks. It is located between the diverse, conservative East Baltimore County and the liberal West Side.
“You get a mix,” Willis said. “You see what’s happening on the outskirts of Philadelphia.”
These suburbs are the site of the Presidential race.
Meanwhile, a few weeks ago in Pikesville, the political star power went to the Democratic candidate, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
“I want to put someone I love very much on the stage, Angela Alsobrooks,” said retired U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski during a campaign rally at the Pikesville Senior Center.
“We spent a lot of time in Baltimore County,” Alsobrooks said. “And you know, we spent time all over the state. I think you should represent every part of the state.”
Pikesville is in Democratic state Sen. Shelly Hettleman’s district. While he’s focused on helping his blue-collar district of Alsobrook, Hettleman said he’s recently been knocking on the door of a purplish-white swamp candidate.
“There are Republicans and independents, and I had a good conversation with some of the people that were in the house about why this election is so important and why it’s so important for Democrats to retain control of the United States Senate,” Hettleman said.
The dispute was at the center of the Alsobrooks campaign. On the other hand, Hogan says he will be a politically independent US senator.
Republican County Councilman David Marks, a Hogan supporter, believes the former governor can lead Baltimore County. Marks said it was very important to do so.
“If a Republican loses Baltimore County, they might lose Frederick, and they might lose Howard,” Marks said.
These three counties, like the state, are majority Democratic but have a fair number of Republican voters. To win in a Democratic state, Hogan needs to get independents and pick some Democrats. Hogan was able to do this in two races for governor while comfortably carrying Baltimore County.
However, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski The Democrat believes Alsobrooks’ strong showing in the district may mean it’s game over for Hogan.
“If you tie or win in Baltimore County, you’re set to win statewide,” Olszewski said. “We have numbers that could change the outcome of the election.”
Here are some of those numbers: Baltimore County is the state’s third most populous county and had the second most absentee voters in Maryland in November 2022, at about 107,000.
The voters of the district have also shown their willingness to distribute tickets. In 2018, when both Olszewski, a Democrat, and Hogan, a Republican, were on the ballot, they received about the same number of votes in the races for county clerk and governor.
Republican state Sen. Chris West said dividing the electoral vote between parties would be important for Hogan to win a third term.
“If he wins (in the district) like he did when he ran for governor twice, he’s going to win,” West said. “His problem, of course, is the man at the top of the ticket.”
Former President Donald Trump is expected to lose Maryland by a wide margin to Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to the Hogan campaign, he has been to Baltimore County about a dozen times since Labor Day and plans to hold his last vote-getting rally ahead of next Tuesday’s election.
Alsobrooks’ campaign said in a statement: “Over the past week, he will be making his case to voters across the state and will be making several appearances in Baltimore County.”
WYPR The Baltimore Banner is the media partner. read on original story at WYPR.org.