Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks gave keynote addresses at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week.
Moore and Alsobrooks, who is also the Democratic nominee for Maryland’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, both earned prime-time slots for their speeches. The pair highlighted the support Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris provided during key moments of their political careers.
Alsobrooks walked onto the stage Tuesday night to a rousing applause from the crowd.
The lifelong Prince Georgian, who aims to become the fourth-ever Black woman to serve as a U.S. Senator, began her speech by detailing her grandmother’s journey as a housekeeper who had dreams of public service.
Alsobrooks said that she is a byproduct of her grandmother’s legacy and takes inspiration from women like her and Harris, who previously served as a U.S. Senator representing California.
“People like me, stories like mine, don’t usually make it to the United States Senate, but they should,” Alsobrooks said.
Alsobrooks’s 14-year friendship with Harris began during her campaign for Prince George’s County state’s attorney in 2009, she said.
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Two days after she won the election, Harris called Alsobrooks to congratulate her and offered support in her new role, she said.
Alsobrooks said Harris helped her introduce the Back on Track program — a reentry initiative aimed at reducing repeated offenses from convicted people — to Prince George’s County. Harris originally introduced the initiative in 2005, when she served as San Francisco’s district attorney.
During her speech on Tuesday, Alsobrooks touted Harris’ role as a prosecutor, alluding to her record of confronting cartels, banks and oil companies.
This November’s election is an opportunity to leave former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the past and move onto a more hopeful future, Alsobrooks said.
“As dark as our days and challenges have sometimes felt, it’s always darkest before the dawn,” Alsobrooks said. “We know that we can endure for a night because joy cometh in the morning.”
On Wednesday, Moore emphasized his military experience and Harris’ support to Maryland during critical junctures.
The first-term governor in his address highlighted Harris’s support during Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March, which killed six people.
Moore recalled that Harris called him shortly after the bridge’s collapse to pledge her and President Joe Biden’s support.
He concluded his speech by comparing election day to a military mission and emphasized the importance of persevering through hardship,
“We have got 75 days and a wake up until election day,” Moore said. “75 days and a wake up for us to show that true patriots do not whine and complain. We put our heads down and we get to work.”
Harris is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday and accept her presidential nomination.
