As expected, Democrat Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has easily dispatched former two-term Republican Governor Larry Hogan to keep Maryland's senate seat in the Democrats' column. While Hogan is expected to beat Donald Trump's performance in the state. When the race was called, Hogan trailed Alsobrooks by 4.5 points while Trump was being blown out by 27.8 points.

The race has never been close in the polls, and it wasn't much of a surprise as Maryland hasn't elected a Republican to the US Senate since 1980. Despite the unfavorable political terrain, the GOP establishment held hope that Hogan could convert the popularity that gave him two terms in the statehouse and his never-Trump, RINO credentials into enough votes to pull off an upset. His campaign focused on his record as governor and his promise to be "independent" if he was elected rather than the rather, in my view, atrocious record of Prince George's County under Alsobrook's leadership.

Hogan, 68, has attacked her record on crime, but he primarily ran on his personality and a record that includes steering Maryland through the pandemic, lowering taxes and being a vocal GOP critic of Trump. He has tried to burnish those anti-Trump credentials with moderate Democrats and independent voters, reminding them of his tenure as governor, which ended in 2023 with record-high approval ratings. He promised to be an “independent” and “maverick” in the U.S. Senate.

While the extra senate seat could always come in handy, it is a relief to know that we haven't empowered another Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, or Susan Collins, who is more interested in getting approving articles about himself in the Washington Post and New York Times and playing the role of tame, docile good Republican than fighting to preserve the country.