Democrat has been named the projected winer of Maryland’s U.S. Senate race against Republican Larry Hogan according to .

Her win makes her the first Black U.S. Senator in the state’s history.

With a distinguished record of public service—including eight years as Prince George’s County State’s Attorney followed by two terms as County Executive—Alsobrooks is set to bring her deep-rooted experience to Congress, where she joins a small, historic cohort of Black women who have served in the Senate. Alsobrooks’s campaign has carried historic weight, and her victory marks a new chapter for Maryland. “People like me don’t make it to the Senate, but we should,” Alsobrooks said during her address at the Democratic National Convention in August.

She highlighted the systemic barriers that Black women face in reaching high political office. Reflecting on the experience, she told ESSENCE, “We’ve only elected two Black women to the Senate and only had three serve so far, so it was a joy to go out on that stage and represent so many people whose voices, I believe have been underrepresented in the Senate. And it was a great moment.

Alsobrooks shared that her inspiration for public service was partly sparked by Kamala Harris, who was then a district attorney in San Francisco. In 2009, Alsobrooks read an ESSENCE article about Harris’s innovative approach to justice. “I read a story in Essence magazine about a district attorney using new ideas to keep her community saf.