The Black woman with a shot at Cardin’s seat

With help from Jesse Naranjo, Rishika Dugyala, Ella Creamer and Teresa Wiltz

What up, Recast family! Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns the U.S. could default on its debt by June 1, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he’s forgoing a White House run next year and Hollywood screenwriters go on strike over pay. First, though, more on a shake up in deep-blue Maryland politics.

Maryland senior Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin’s announcement Monday that he is not seeking a fourth term, while not a surprise, sends a jolt through the Old Line State. Some political observers are already speculating that this news means voters are poised to take a page from their history-making 2022 election of Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

Democrats — fresh off the successful run of Moore, who became just the third Black man elected governor in the nation’s history last year — are giddy about the prospects of electing another barrier-breaking candidate.

Even if she hasn’t announced she’s running.


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Current Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who previously served two terms as the county’s state attorney, is being floated as one of a handful of formidable successors with a legitimate shot at Cardin’s seat.

She represents the state’s second-most populous county, which is nearly two-thirds Black and affluent, with a median household income of more than $91,000, according to U.S. census data. (Until recently, Prince George’s County had the distinction of being the nation’s wealthiest Black county.)

“I think she’s in the prime position,” Maryland state Del. Nick Charles tells The Recast. “She’s a rock star in the Maryland Democratic Party.”

Charles, who is chair of the Prince George’s delegation in the Maryland State House, has already signaled his support for Alsobrook’s yet-to-be announced Senate bid. He adds that she’s well-respected and can appeal to voters in Baltimore and Montgomery counties, which are all Democratic strongholds with potential candidates also eying the Cardin seat.

Her potential candidacy represents what many Democrats — both in Maryland and nationally — are clamoring for: a Black woman in the Senate. When Kamala Harris left the Senate to assume the vice presidency, that left zero Black women in the chamber.

Alsobrooks “literally changed the trajectory of Wes Moore’s election and Wes will tell you that himself, because of her star power,” Charles notes. Voters in the state are eager for the “great opportunity” to send a Black woman to Congress’ upper chamber, he adds.

Still, it’s early for what will likely be a wide-open Democratic primary.

Fellow Democrat Will Jawando, a former Obama administration alum and current Montgomery County council member, released a video Tuesday, becoming the first candidate to jump into the race.

Several Maryland political operatives say other notable state Democrats are thought to be eyeing a run too, including Democratic Reps. David Trone and Jamie Raskin.

Trone, who is independently wealthy as the owner of alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, will have the ability to self-fund his campaign. It’s expected that he’ll bring out the big names to run his campaign: Dan Morrocco, who led Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s reelection efforts will likely do the honors once Trone officially announces.

Raskin, who last week announced his cancer was in remission, would also be a compelling candidate. He’s already built a national profile for himself, having served on the Jan. 6 select committee and led the second impeachment proceedings against then-President Donald Trump

“This is the East Coast answer to the California Democratic primary,” said a former Wes Moore campaign operative, referring to the closely watched contest in California to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who plans to retire when her term expires next year.

The early jockeying for that Democratic primary features Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. Lee is Black while Schiff and Porter are white.

The operative, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about how the race is shaping up, says that all three of the top-tier Maryland potential candidates will face tough questions about their viability.

In Trone’s case, he’ll have to convince the average Maryland voter that he’s not too conservative to represent the overwhelmingly blue state. Raskin will have to decide if he wants to abandon his perch in the House — where he’s got sizable influence — for a competitive primary. With Alsobrooks, there’s a question about whether she can raise enough money out the gate.

Still, the former Moore campaign aide believes Alsobrooks may be able to whip up excitement for Marylanders, who they think are eager to make history again.

Maryland Democrats, during the previous eight years under Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, were able to build a formidable bench that has been on display since the midterm cycle last year, according to Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College.

Kromer, the author of “Blue-State Republican,” which examines Hogan’s time as Maryland’s chief executive, predicts Cardin’s retirement won’t mean a comeback for Hogan. The former governor said he isn’t going to make a 2024 White House run; he also remains uninterested in a Senate campaign, as Holly Otterbein reported for POLITICO in March.

“Most of his time in office was a time where Donald Trump was either the head or the de facto head of the Republican Party, and I think that muddles some things” for Hogan, Kromer says.

She adds that Alsobrooks is the one she’s got her eye on this time around.

You know we’ll keep tabs on this as well.

All the best,
The Recast Team


AAPI PULSE CHECK POLL

Half of Asian Americans don’t feel safe in the U.S., and almost 80 percent don’t feel like they fully belong or are accepted, according to a survey out this morning from The Asian American Foundation. The Recast’s Jesse Naranjo breaks down the findings.

The wide-ranging 2023 STAATUS Index, which surveyed 5,235 U.S-based respondents over 16 years old, found that among other factors, the Covid-19 pandemic and the U.S.’ geopolitical battle with China are seen as driving motives behind attacks against Asian Americans. Places where Asian Americans reported feeling the least safe were on public transit and in their own neighborhoods.

Three-quarters of respondents said such attacks are a problem today, but along partisan lines, more Democrats (82 percent) felt that way than Republicans (64 percent). Forty-three percent of Democrats said attacks against Asian Americans are a “very serious” problem, compared to just 1 in 5 Republicans.

“We’re seeing a continuing and alarming trend in that the majority of Asian Americans do not feel safe or feel like they belong here because of their race,” TAAF’s CEO Norman Chen said in a statement announcing the findings.

“Anti-Asian violence threatens our community and takes a toll in every part of our lives, from riding a public bus to attending school.”

The survey found strong majorities of Americans of all races view China as a national security and economic threat, with white Americans, Republicans and older adults more likely to hold this view. The report notes that the survey, conducted Feb. 9 to March 13, was carried out in the wake of the Chinese spy balloon incident.

However, 79 percent said they do not believe people of Chinese descent living in the U.S. pose a threat to the country. Black Americans were the least likely to hold this view, at 67 percent, compared to 84 percent of Asian Americans and 80 percent of white Americans. The survey also found that 1 in 4 respondents think Asian Americans are more loyal to their country of origin than to the U.S.

Contradicting that finding, 87 percent said Asian Americans should hold jobs involving national security, though again in this case, Black Americans were the least likely to hold this view, at 73 percent.

Almost a third of respondents said Asian Americans should be subject to more scrutiny in positions important to U.S. strategic competitiveness. Interestingly, that figure was highest among respondents ages 16-24.


ICYMI @ POLITICO

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