Hakeem Jeffries endorses David Trone in divided Maryland Senate race to succeed Ben Cardin

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and his deputies in the House endorsed Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) run for Senate on Monday, further dividing the party in what has become a two-person race in Maryland.

To date, some of the biggest names in Maryland politics, from Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the former majority leader of the House, have announced their support for Angela Alsobrooks, the two-term executive of Prince George’s County.

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Will Jawando, the Montgomery County councilman who dropped out of the race in October, has endorsed Alsobrooks as well.

Trone counts dozens of his House colleagues as supporters, but the Monday endorsement is by far his biggest pickup, lending Trone establishment support as he runs for the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).

Along with Jeffries, Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 2 and No. 3 Democrats in the House, also endorsed his run.

The two candidates are largely aligned on the issues, though the race is expected to play an outsize role in the primary. If elected, Alsobrooks would be only the fourth black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, something her surrogates have emphasized on the trail.

Jeffries, seemingly sensitive to that fact, hailed Trone, who is white, as an ally of the black community in announcing his support.

“From the moment he arrived in the House of Representatives, David Trone has been a consistent and valued partner in the effort to fix our broken criminal justice system, eliminate reentry barriers for returning citizens and root out systemic racism,” said Jeffries, the first black party leader in Congress.

The endorsements are considered important to demonstrating early momentum in deep-blue Maryland, where the race will essentially be decided in the May primary.

The other factor, of course, is money. Trone, a three-term congressman who made a fortune in the retail liquor business, lags Alsobrooks in individual donations, but his ability to self-fund makes him a formidable rival. He has so far contributed $10 million to his own campaign.

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Alsobrooks has raised around $3 million.

Trone, who had already been endorsed by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, touted Monday’s endorsement in a text blast to supporters and on X, calling it a “massive vote of confidence” in his campaign.