In 2010, after besting four challengers in a crowded Democratic primary race for Prince George’s County state’s attorney, Angela Alsobrooks received her first phone call from a rising political star in California.

It was Kamala Harris, then a prosecutor in San Francisco who went on that year to win the state attorney general’s race and would later clinch a U.S. Senate seat — the second Black woman and first South Asian American to ever do so. Alsobrooks, who had read about Harris in Essence Magazine, jumped at the chance to get to know her better. From there, the two established a casual friendship that Alsobrooks has described as a formative building block in her career.

Now the relationship has taken on a life of its own. As the Nov. 5 general election draws near, the two women are experiencing a different kind of intimacy: Their names are plastered side-by-side on campaign posters that have cropped up in every corner of the state. In Maryland, Alsobrooks and her famous friend have taken top billing on the Democratic ticket.

Their candidacies have in many ways become synonymous with a new brand of politics being ushered in by women and women of color. With Harris at the forefront of a pipeline of Black women with advanced degrees and a powerful support network, their friendship may matter now more than ever.

Alsobrooks, 53, said she never conceived that one day she and Harris, 60, would lead the ticket in Maryland as each fights for higher office against formidable Republican opponents — both of them popular white men with devoted bases.

Voters, the county executive said, have a chance to make history with a vote for two women whose paths closely mirror each other’s. Their messaging reflects those parallel tracks: from middle-class beginnings to courtrooms and then to higher office within the Democratic Party.

“Our teeth were cut in the same place,” she said. “The thing that happens to people who work in those courtrooms of families ... is you get an up close and personal view of what makes people suffer.”

That learned empathy, Alsobrooks said, has shaped her political platform and that of her friend.

Alsobrooks, using a roadmap created by Harris, introduced a program for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders that offered them access to community college, job training and mentorship in exchange for a one-time expungement of their felony records. Early on in her state’s attorney career, Alsobrooks visited Harris in California to bring the initiative to Maryland.

Violent crime dropped in the state by 33% during her two terms in the role, but the most precipitous drop in Maryland was recorded in Prince George’s County, according to a Banner data analysis, with a 58% decline. Alsobrooks said she’s proud that she and Harris have stood firm in their commitment to the “Smart on Crime” approach that helped make Harris a household name.

At Alsobrooks’ campaign headquarters in Upper Marlboro, a large selfie of the county executive with the vice president greets visitors as they enter the office suite. During an April interview, Alsobrooks said she understands the outsized role she and her friend are playing in many people’s lives.

“We represent a lot of women ... younger women in particular, who are looking to the two of us,” she said, “and I want them to see when they look at us, dignity and optimism. I want them to see that.”

Glynda C. Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America PAC, said Alsobrooks and other Black women prosecutors are part of the “Kamala effect”: Black women leaders using their advanced degrees, powerful networks and personal experiences with race, policy and identity to woo voters.

While Harris followed in the footsteps of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman and Black person to seek the nomination for president, candidates like Alsobrooks are using Harris’ political strategies for their own political success.

“This is a pathway over the last 10 years that we will continue to see,” Carr said, also mentioning names like Kimberly M. Foxx and Letitia James. “We are going to see more Black women say they are going to run and make an impact.”

Carr’s organization mobilized support for Alsobrooks and Harris earlier this month when they visited Maryland as part of the #BlackWomenLead Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Bus Tour. The two-day tour started in Brooklyn, New York, and made stops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and concluded in Maryland on Oct. 13.

In polls, Alsobrooks has the edge over former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan while Harris and President Donald Trump are statistically tied. In their fight for mass appeal, both mentor and mentee have gravitated toward the center-left of the Democratic platform — though both have been labeled as radical extremists by the Republican Party. And they’ve both also received scrutiny for some of their past positions on crime and justice, the territory that comes with being a prosecutor.

The two women “clearly have a lot of similarities,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the UMBC Institute of Politics.

“They each share general values and world views,” Kromer said. “When you call someone a mentor, they typically reflect that in you.”

Kromer predicts that the national enthusiasm surrounding Harris will likely help Alsobrooks in her historic bid in Maryland.

“The top of the ticket typically affects the rest of the ticket,” she said, adding that Marylanders showing up at the polls bodes well for Democrats down the ballot.

“Harris is not worried about [winning] Maryland, but she’s been here twice for Alsobrooks,” Kromer added. “That wasn’t done for Harris — that was done for Alsobrooks.”

Alsobrooks and Harris having a shared membership as part of the Divine Nine, the nine Black sororities and fraternities recognized under the National Pan-Hellenic Council, is also an important similarity, Kromer said.

“The women who join those sororities and stay active are impressive and really organized women,” she said. “What it comes down to is having a network. It is a powerful network to tap into. And they both have access to it. That matters — especially for fundraising.”

Female candidates have traditionally had a tougher time raising money compared to their white male counterparts, Kromer said. But the ability to activate the Divine Nine network and its thousands of members is a potential pool of donors that can not only raise money but mobilize through knocking on doors and encouraging others to vote, she added. Harris has broken fundraising records with $1 billion raised in just a few months.

Marylanders have also noticed the similarities between Harris and Alsobrooks, and some said it excites them as they consider their options this fall.

Emily Rohrer, a nurse who lives in Hampden, plans to “happily” vote for Harris and Alsobrooks because they share many of the same policies, their legal backgrounds, and the fact that they can make history in this election.

“In comparison to their old, white male Republican counterparts, I trust strong, smart Black women to protect my rights, especially as they pertain to women’s health and fighting for working families,” said Rohrer, who is white.

Nia Banks, a plastic surgeon who lives in Federal Hill, also supports both women.

“I feel they are best prepared for the roles that they are running for,” she said. “They are fully capable and more than qualified, but more importantly, humble.”

For Kisha Webster, a solutions consultant for a local health care plan, Harris in particular has inspired “awe.”

But she’s also happy to throw her support behind Alsobrooks, whom she referred to as the “absolute best candidate” in Maryland’s race for U.S. Senate.

Alsobrooks said she hopes Marylanders see something worth voting “for” in both her and Harris.

“I feel like the rest of the country is coming to know the Kamala Harris that I have known now for more than a decade,” she said. “It’s the biggest honor of my life to have my name posted on a sign alongside her.”