The Post endorses Angela D. Alsobrooks for U.S. Senate in Maryland

Such strategic considerations are no doubt relevant to many Marylanders. In legislative bodies, party affiliation plays a much different role than it does in the executive-branch positions the candidates have held, shaping committee assignments and the legislative agenda. That’s too bad, in a way, because this is a rare contest in contemporary politics that voters could consider strictly on the candidates’ merits — and feel good about doing so. Both Mr. Hogan and Ms. Alsobrooks are experienced leaders who could represent Maryland ably.

In our view, Ms. Alsobrooks would do it better. She has our strong endorsement.

The fact that the Democratic nominee faces a competitive contest at all says more about what’s right with Mr. Hogan than what might be wrong with her. While other Republicans have failed to gain traction statewide in deep-blue Maryland, the former governor remains popular. He handled the coronavirus pandemic well and acted as a fiscally responsible check on a Democratic legislature in Annapolis. We endorsed him for reelection as governor in 2018.

Yet we’re not convinced his gubernatorial record and party-of-one political brand would add up to effectiveness as a legislator working on behalf of Maryland’s interests. It would help if Mr. Hogan had declared clear policy priorities, but his campaign is all about tone and process — except when he promises to respect reproductive rights, a defensive move forced on him by Ms. Alsobrooks’s unequivocal, and popular, pro-choice stance.

Ms. Alsobrooks, too, wants to restore collegiality and lower the political temperature, and her record suggests this is not idle rhetoric. Ironically, some of the proof comes from her past working relationship with Mr. Hogan, which both candidates describe as productive and respectful. Also clear from her record: She has climbed the ladder of government — assistant state’s attorney, state’s attorney, county executive — and performed effectively at each stage. This is a daughter of middle-class parents who has paid her dues in public service and has listened to her constituents and who knows Maryland from the grass roots up. She would have a special perspective as one of the few Black female senators ever elected.

Mr. Hogan warns that, in contrast to his independence within the GOP, Ms. Alsobrooks would simply vote in lockstep with other Democrats. But her record suggests thoughtfulness and nuance. On the issue of crime, crucial both to Maryland and the country, Ms. Alsobrooks bucked her party’s progressive wing: As county executive, she resisted pressure to pull police resource officers out of schools as some had urged in the summer of 2020. She enforced a curfew for kids to help curb armed carjackings. Her successor as state’s attorney criticized this, but Ms. Alsobrooks was right — and crime went down.

It’s not a Maryland matter, to be sure, but on issues related to next-door D.C., there is also a clear contrast between the two candidates: Ms. Alsobrooks has promised to vote against efforts to overturn laws the D.C. Council passes, while Mr. Hogan has said he thinks Congress can sometimes exercise that constitutional but undemocratic power.

For all her knowledge of local and state issues, Ms. Alsobrooks faces a learning curve on the international matters that come before the Senate (as would Mr. Hogan). Still, the early indications are promising; a self-described “internationalist,” she argues the United States should continue engaging forcefully in the world, including by staunchly supporting Ukraine in its fight with Russia. She candidly notes that she had to learn about fighting crime when she became a prosecutor and economic development when she became county executive. “In every single position I’ve ever had, I’ve been underestimated,” she said in an interview. “I always come up to speed.”

It’s a credible self-description. Just 53, Ms. Alsobrooks has the potential to serve in the Senate for decades, gaining experience and seniority as the retiring three-term veteran she would replace, Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, did. By electing her this year, Marylanders would be casting a well-founded vote of confidence in her future — and their own.