Democrat In High-Stakes Race Took Lobbyist Money

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Though she has attempted to distance herself from corporate interests, Democratic Maryland Senate candidate Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has taken money from corporate lobbyists.

In a December 2023 fundraising email, Alsobrooks promised that, if elected, she would “stand up to deep-pocketed, powerful, special interests. In an April 26 statement, she claimed she is “not beholden” to corporate lobbyists such as “Big Oil, Big Pharma, or the Big Gun Lobby.”

Despite her claims, financial disclosures show dozens of lobbyists have donated more than $100,000 to her campaign.

According to financial disclosures, a founding partner at Forbes-Tate, Jeffrey Forbes, donated $3,300 to her campaign while representing pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and tobacco company Altria. Disclosures show that he began lobbying for RTX, formerly Raytheon, just months after his donation.

While representing pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead Sciences and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the CEO and managing partner of the lobbying firm Empire Consulting Group, Mike McKay, made the maximum contribution to her campaign.

Johnson & Johnson lobbyist Larry Camm donated $250, while lobbyist for America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Sarah Venuto, also donated $250.

Lobbyists for big tech have also donated to her campaign. Lobbyists for Meta, Brian Rice and Chris Randle, donated $7,000 combined, while a lobbyist working for Oracle, Adrian Boafo, donated $500, according to financial disclosures.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Alsobrooks will face off in the November general election for the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. The race in the reliably blue state of Maryland is competitive as Hogan remains very popular with Maryland residents after serving his two terms as governor. However, a Republican senator has not been elected in the state since 1980.

The competitive race could determine control of the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-49 majority. In November, the Democrats will be defending 23 out of 34 seats as Republicans hope to flip some of the seats and gain control.