Prince George's Senate race may be decided in June 23 primary
Two Democrats are fighting for the District 24 Senate seat, and with no other names on the ballot, the June 23 primary could decide Prince George’s next senator.
Prince George’s County may choose its next state senator for District 24 before the general election ever arrives. At a tightly timed forum Tuesday night at the Collington retirement community in Mitchellville, Del. Tiffany Alston and Kevin Ford Jr. staked out different ground on the issues that shape daily life in the county, from housing costs to end-of-life care.
The race carries outsized weight because Alston and Ford are the only candidates on the Democratic primary ballot, and the Republican primary was canceled. In a county that is 62.0% Black alone and 23.9% Hispanic or Latino, with a median gross rent of $1,799, the winner of the June 23 primary is widely expected to become the next senator representing one of Prince George’s most politically consequential districts.
The forum, which ran for about an hour, moved quickly through two dozen questions on health, education, public safety and related issues. Candidates were given 60 seconds for 13 questions, 30 seconds for five and just 15 seconds for six yes-or-no questions, a format that forced clearer contrasts than a standard campaign stop. Alston and Ford used that time to make early appeals to voters who are likely to decide the race in a low-turnout primary.
Ford opened with a focus on homeowner associations, saying his first bill would limit their power. Alston said her first bill would support medical-aid-in-dying legislation, a position that already has a constituency at Collington, where more than 300 residents signed a petition last year backing the End of Life Option Act. The split underscored how the candidates are trying to define themselves on issues that affect residents not in the abstract, but in monthly bills, neighborhood rules and personal medical decisions.
The election is taking place as District 24 turns the page on Joanne C. Benson, who has served in the Maryland Senate since Jan. 12, 2011, after two decades in the House of Delegates, and has been Majority Whip since 2023. Benson’s departure opens a seat that has long carried influence in Annapolis, where Prince George’s lawmakers are often central to fights over housing, transportation, public safety and county funding.
That broader power shift is part of what makes the June 23 primary so important. Maryland early voting runs June 11-18, mail-in ballots must be postmarked or placed in a designated drop box by 8 p.m. on June 23, and the online voter-registration deadline is June 2. As of May 8, Gov. Wes Moore had not endorsed in the District 24 Senate race, leaving Alston and Ford to compete for the county networks and turnout machinery that often decide Democratic primaries in Prince George’s County.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
