Maryland Democrats to decide bitter and pricey Senate primary, setting up a crucial fall race

Maryland’s bitter and expensive Democratic Senate primary will come to a close Tuesday, as voters choose the nominee for a race that could be key to deciding control of the chamber in November.

Democratic Rep. David Trone spent more than $60 million of his fortune from his wine retail store, swamping Maryland's airwaves with campaign ads in his race against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is vying to become the state’s first Black senator.

The primary race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin was expected to decide the next senator in the traditionally blue state. But former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to run for the seat put the race in play for Republicans, and both Trone and Alsobrooks have been making the case that they are best positioned to beat Hogan in the fall.

Trone said in one ad that he’ll use “every resource” against Hogan, and he’s raised questions about Alsobrooks’ odds against Hogan.

“I don’t think there’s any chance in this world that she’ll beat Larry Hogan,” he told NBC News in an interview last week, arguing that polling shows him faring better against the former governor.

But Alsobrooks’ allies, who include several of Maryland’s top Democratic officials, believe she can rally the coalition necessary to beat Hogan and provide a sharper contrast as a female candidate in a year in which abortion is expected to be a top issue.

Alsobrooks has also criticized Trone’s self-funding and argued that she has built grassroots support to overcome the millions he’s spent on the race.

“Nobody should be able to buy a seat,” she said in an interview with NBC News last week. “This is not what democracy looks like in this country.”

Hogan must first win his own primary, in