Former Maryland US Sen. Barbara Mikulski backs Angela Alsobrooks for Senate
Barbara Mikulski, the Baltimorean who is one of the longest-serving women in U.S. Senate history, has endorsed Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat.
“Hi, everybody. I’m here tonight to lend my enthusiastic support for Angela Alsobrooks,” Mikulski, a Democrat, said at a Tuesday night event in Baltimore for Alsobrooks, according to a video of her brief speech.
Mikulski said Maryland has “the opportunity to send another women back to the U.S. Senate from Maryland,” but added: “It’s not only about gender, it’s about the agenda.”
Maryland’s U.S. Senate and U.S. House delegation is currently all-male.
Mikulski also supports Democrat Sheila Dixon for mayor of Baltimore and Democrat Sarah Elfreth for the 3rd Congressional District seat, which is open due to incumbent John Sarbanes’ retirement, according to Martha McKenna, a political consultant who works with all three women. Dixon and Elfreth each recently posted on social media announcing Mikulski’s support of their campaigns in Maryland’s May 14 primary.
Mikulski served in the Senate from 1987 to 2017. She served five terms in the House before that. The only woman who served longer in the Senate was the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
After retiring from Congress in 2017, Mikulski began teaching public policy at the Johns Hopkins University.
Alsobrooks is competing in the primary against, among others, David Trone, a third-term congressman and the co-founder of the Total Wine & More retail chain.