Alsobrooks will be the state’s first Black U.S. senator. She defeated popular Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, who was considered one of the most competitive candidates for the GOP in years in the blue state.

The race received widespread attention because of its potential to affect control of the Senate. Alsobrooks campaigned heavily on supporting abortion rights. She has served as Prince George’s County executive in Maryland’s second most populous jurisdiction in the suburbs of the nation’s capital. Alsobrooks also served as the county’s top prosecutor.

HOGAN SPEECH TRANSCRIPT:

And I want to thank every single one of you in this room tonight. Give yourselves all a big round of applause. Thank you. Thank you so much. I want to say thanks to my wife, Yumi, who inspired me to get into this race and my entire family. Give them a big round of applause.

I stepped up to run because I was concerned about what kind of a future we would be leaving for all of our kids and grandkids. And for me, the greatest title wasn’t governor or senator. It’s dad and Pop-Pop. I, I also want to thank our incredible campaign staff. Please give them a round of applause. They did amazing. Amazing job.

And the thousands of volunteers all across the state who work their butts off. You know, some campaigns drag on for years, but this one was a nine month sprint. We ran full speed from day one, from early mornings and late nights to every corner of the state, knocking on doors, making calls and meeting voters from Oakland to Ocean City and everywhere in between.

And we built a broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats and independents and we brought together first responders, police, veterans, longshoremen, teachers, small business owners, young people and retirees, and hard working families all across the state. This was truly a grassroots campaign. And most of all, I want to thank my fellow Marylanders, especially all those in deep blue Maryland, who were willing to put country over party and split their tickets.

If the pundits and the politicians were more like the good and decent people that I meet every day on the campaign trail. Our country would be so much better off. A week? Yeah. We got into this race for the right reasons, to fix the broken politics and to put our country on the right track, and we ran the kind of campaign that represents what politics can be and what it should be.

Driven by the people, not the party bosses, and focused on the issues that actually matter to families all across Maryland. From day one, this was the only campaign in America that reached out to Republicans, Democrats and independents alike, because that’s what it’s going to take to solve the serious problems we face. Americans today are thoroughly convinced that we’re hopelessly divided, that Washington is completely dysfunctional, and that our entire political system is fundamentally broken.

But the voices of the exhausted majority are ignored in deference to the demands of the loudest and angriest few who seem hell bent on tearing America apart. No matter what happens in this election,

We have got to find a way to come together, to listen and to believe in each other once again, because there really is far more that unites us than divides us.

Well, tonight did not bring the outcome we had hoped for. We can all hold our heads high. I can tell you we left it all on the field. And I’m so damn proud of the effort. Thank you all.

Thank you.

We proved that campaigns can be about so much more than just red versus blue. I kept stressing that we need to get back to the red, white and blue, even though this chapter ends tonight. Our work and our commitment to a brighter future and a better path forward will continue. The stakes are far too high for any of us to walk away and just sit on the sidelines.

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So to everyone who stood with us in this cause, who worked, fought and believed in this campaign, let me say this. You should never apologize for standing up for decency and common sense. Never give in to fear or cynicism and never, ever give up on the work of changing Maryland and America for the better. Thank you. God bless you all and may God bless the great state of Maryland and the United States of America.