ANNAPOLIS, Md. — We're less than 24 hours away until the polls open for the Maryland primaries.
All eyes are on the open Democratic Senate race between Maryland Rep. David Trone and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
Alsobrooks spent the eve of the primaries greeting Metro riders in Silver Spring. She expressed hope after the latest polls from Emerson College/The Hill/DC News Now shows a statistical tie.
Alsobrooks ahead by one point at 42% against Trone. While there are 12% undecided, the polls show more of those undecided voters lean toward Alsobooks, who is backed by Gov. Wes Moore.
“It’s showing that I now have a slight lead over my opponent in the race,” Alsobrooks told WUSA9. “We're in a really great place. We need people to come out and vote.”
On Monday, Trone spent part of his day in Baltimore where he received an endorsement from a coalition of Black faith leaders.
Federal campaign finance reports show Trone spent $51 million in the race versus Alsobrooks’ $6 million, making his the most expensive campaign in state history.
Trone, the co-owner of Total Wine, is supported by the Maryland attorney general.
Although Maryland hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1980, former Gov. Larry Hogan announcing his run in the largely unopposed GOP primary has raised the stakes.
The tight race has political experts watching closely. University of Maryland, Baltimore County Associate Professor of Political Science Ian Anson said what stood out is the recent negative message from the campaigns.
“The center of this race has become more combative and that speaks to the idea that this is a very close race, and it seems like a lot of the campaign professionals that are working are realizing they need to try every trick in the toolbox to be able to galvanize voters,” Anson said.
While Trone has the deep pockets and name recognition, if she’s successful, Alsobrooks could make history as the first Black woman elected to the Senate in Maryland. With the voter turnout so far, experts say issues they stand on will ultimately resonate the most.
“I think policy here is still extremely important,” Anson added. “The voters that are turning out to vote here are very savvy and habitual voters who take this process seriously.”
More than 150,000 people cast their ballots in person early, which is pretty low.
However, mail-in ballots are what’s at play. Maryland sent out more than 638,000 mail-in ballots. As of Sunday, 293,000 mail-ballots have been turned in.