ROCKVILLE, Maryland — Caroline, a black woman in her early 60s, has lived in Maryland her whole adult life. She calls herself an independent and says Republican Larry Hogan was a good governor. She knows nothing about the record of Democrat Angela Alsobrooks , the county executive in neighboring Prince George’s County. Yet Caroline voted for Alsobrooks over Hogan in the Senate race on Tuesday.
Why?
“It would be nice to have Democrats have the majority” in the Senate, she tells me.
In the past six years, Alsobrooks has presided over a deadly youth crime wave and a simultaneous drop in academic achievement, all following her yearlong school closures, draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, and defund-the-police fumbling. Nevertheless, Alsobrooks overcame a massive poll deficit early in the race and handily defeated Hogan on Election Day.
The reason: Maryland voters decided that partisan control of the Senate was more important than competence or accomplishments. This reflects our national shift toward increased partisanship, where most blue states vote Democratic from top of ticket to bottom, and red states vote straight party, as well — occasionally making an exception for a governor.