Why AP called Maryland’s Senate primaries for Alsobrooks and Hogan: Race calls explained

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press declared Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan the winners in their primaries for the U.S. Senate in Maryland on Tuesday.

The race is expected to be competitive in November, when Hogan will try to become the first Republican from Maryland to win a U.S. Senate seat since 1980. If Alsobrooks wins this fall, she would become the first Black U.S. senator in the state’s history.

The AP only declares a winner once it can determine that a trailing candidate can’t close the gap and overtake the vote leader.

Here’s a look at how the AP called these races.

U.S. Senate from Maryland, Democratic primary

Candidates: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Rep. David Trone, eight others

Winner: Alsobrooks

Called at: 9:55 p.m. ET

Poll closing time: 8 p.m. ET

About the race: Alsobrooks and Trone were in a competitive race for the Democratic nomination to replace Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin, who is retiring after three terms.

The contest pit candidates from the state’s two most populous counties: Montgomery and Prince George’s. Trone represents the northern portion of Montgomery County in Congress, along with all of more conservative western Maryland. Alsobrooks is the chief executive in Prince George’s County, the state’s second most populous county and the county with the highest share of Black residents in the state.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> From Hogan to a Trumpier Senate: Early takeways