Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is leaning on the Big Schlims of the world to help offset Rep. David Trone’s cavernous pockets in Maryland’s hard-fought Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Big Schlim’s real name is Jay McLeod. He is a popular Black food reviewer in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area who has gained tens of thousands of online followers, and he has given Ms. Alsobrooks a unique platform to connect with voters.
“This is one of the most important elections of our lifetime. I have delivered for our community,” Ms. Alsobrooks says in a recent video where she gives her seafood medley with chickpeas and collard greens a Big Schlim-inspired “STAMP!” of approval, his signature top rating for a dish.
Flashing a smile, Ms. Alsobrooks says, “So, vote for your girl.”
The clash, based on the latest poll, could not be closer. An Emerson College/The Hill/DC News Now survey released Thursday — the last day of early Democratic primary voting in the contest — found that 42% of voters support Ms. Alsobrooks and 41% support Mr. Trone. Twelve percent of voters polled were undecided.
The winner of the Tuesday primary between Ms. Alsobrooks and Mr. Trone will advance to the general election in November to face former Gov. Larry Hogan, the popular Republican whose decision to run instantly gave the race national prominence. Although Mr. Hogan led Ms. Alsobrooks and Mr. Trone in head-to-head battles in polling earlier this year, the latest Emerson poll gave Ms. Alsobrooks a 10-percentage-point lead and Mr. Trone an 11-point lead when matched against Mr. Hogan.
They are running for the seat of Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, a Democrat who is retiring after three terms.
A Democratic loss in the contest would likely dash the party’s hopes of defending a slim Senate majority.
The Democratic faceoff has revived the racial and gender overtones of the 2016 nomination of Rep. Chris Van Hollen over Rep. Donna Edwards. Mr. Van Hollen, a White man, had $3.6 million more in his war chest than the single mother seeking to make history as Maryland’s first Black woman elected to the Senate.
In her concession speech, Ms. Edwards said Democrats failed to achieve diversity by preparing to elect “an all-male delegation in a so-called progressive state.”
Eight years later, the financial gap between the candidates is far more jarring.
Democrats now face a stark choice between nominating Mr. Trone, who is willing to tap into seemingly unlimited resources that could prove essential against Mr. Hogan, or Ms. Alsobrooks, who better represents diversity and could more easily energize the party’s base.
“This is what Trone has going for him: He has a bottomless pit of money, and nothing says love like cold, hard cash,” said John Dedie, a professor in the political science department at the Community College of Baltimore County.
Mr. Trone, owner of Total Wine & More, is among the wealthiest members of Congress. He has loaned his campaign $57 million and raised a pedestrian $791,000 through individual donors.
Ms. Alsobrooks pulled in nearly $7.8 million, including $6.6 million from individual donations.
She has tried to bridge the divide with free media coverage by touting big-name endorsements from top Maryland Democrats, including Gov. Wes Moore, Mr. Van Hollen, and Rep. Jaime Raskin.
She has had difficulty breaking through in a race with little daylight between the candidates on the issues.
Pressing his cash advantage, Mr. Trone has dominated the airwaves across the state.
“Trone has been able to be on the air with TV commercials at least since the fall of last year,” said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. “So while she might get a quick mention on the evening news because this person or that person endorsed her, the minute you went to commercial break, it was all David Trone.”
Mr. Trone’s barrage of spending helped shift the focus of the race away from Ms. Alsobrooks and the initial sense of inevitability surrounding her campaign.
Ms. Alsobrooks and her allies have accused Mr. Trone of trying to buy the seat and highlighted his past contributions to Republicans who supported stricter abortion limits.
Early polls showed Mr. Trone leading the race, but Mr. Dedie said he has a sense that Ms. Alsobrooks is gaining momentum.
“I have noticed on social media and other places that there is not a Trone bandwagon,” he said. “There are not Trone keyboard warriors. There are Alsobrooks keyboard warriors.”
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, noted in the release of the latest poll: “Since the February Maryland poll, Alsobrooks’ support increased 25 points, from 17% to 42%, and Trone’s nine points, from 32% to 41%. Among those who already voted, Trone leads 51% to 45%, while those who are likely but have not yet voted break for Alsobrooks, 41% to 37%.”
Mr. Dedie said the reliance on a late surge could help explain why Ms. Alsobrooks is relying on the sort of outside-the-box thinking that landed her on a Big Schlim food review.
“Social media influences are the way of the future,” he said, likening the approach to late-night TV appearances decades ago. “It is a way to reach voters who might say, ‘That person seems cool.’”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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