Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and Republican Larry Hogan are running for U.S. Senate. (Capital News Service)COLLEGE PARK, Md. (October 30, 2024)—Republican Larry Hogan is attracting donors from more diverse political affiliations than his Democratic competitor, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, in their heated race for the Senate.
According to Federal Election Commission reports released this week, Alsobrooks has drawn a far higher number of donors. But among those donors whose party affiliation Capital News Service could identify, more than 31% of Hogan's Maryland donors between July and September were non-Republicans. Less than 6% of Alsobrooks' in-state donors came from outside her own party.
In the analysis, CNS identified donors and their party affiliation by matching names and zip codes in the Maryland voter file, where voters list their party of choice, and FEC reports. It's likely that this method didn't capture every single donor to the campaigns from Maryland, since donors do not have to be registered voters and could use different addresses when giving money.
The data is a reflection of a difference in strategies between the two campaigns, as Hogan and Alsobrooks face very different paths to winning the opening Senate seat.
Hogan is trying to appeal to voters across the political spectrum. In a state Donald Trump lost by more than 33 points in 2020, Hogan faces the challenge of peeling off votes from generally Democratic-leaning voting blocs while also maintaining Republican support during a presidential election cycle driven by a stark partisan divide.
Hogan was a two-term Republican governor while the state government was run by a Democratic supermajority. He previously served in leadership of the No Labels organization and was a frequent critic of Republican Party leaders.
"My entire career has been standing up against Republicans and against Trump whenever I thought they were wrong," Hogan told Capital News Service in an exclusive interview in early October. "And I've said my entire focus is going to be on being a maverick, standing up in the middle (and) being a key voice."
Alsobrooks, for her part, seems determined to stand by the Democratic Party and its agenda. Her policy positions mostly mirror that of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and she has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Democrats holding control of the Senate.
In her debate with Hogan, when asked if there was anything in the Democratic agenda she disagreed with, Alsobrooks replied, "I support the Democratic agenda," highlighting similar positions on abortion, gun control and middle class tax cuts.
While Hogan has drawn from a much more politically diverse donor pool, Alsobrooks has benefited from a far higher number of donors.
There were 6,778 individual donors to Alsobrooks' campaign in the most recent filing period, while Hogan's campaign received contributions from 2,042 individuals. Both candidates received additional money from donors who have given less than $200 in total; the names and addresses of those donors do not appear on campaign finance reports.