Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland voted in favor of codifying into federal law the precedent first established in Roe v. Wade that guaranteed the public’s right to abortion.
Hogan, a candidate in the surprisingly competitive Old Line state Senate race, has pledged to support codification if it is taken up in the Senate, at a time when prominent Republicans across the country have retreated on the albatross issue.
“As Governor, I protected the right of Maryland women to make their own reproductive health decisions. I intend to do the same in the Senate by reinstating Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. ,” he said in a statement provided to the Post.
“No one should come between a woman and her doctor.”
Back in March, Hogan was non-committal Regarding supporting legislation to codify Roe.
As Maryland’s governor, Hogan sought to take a centrist position on the issue, claiming that although he personally opposed abortion, he had no intention of overturning the state’s abortion laws.
2022 Hogan Veto bill To expand abortion access in Maryland, it would eliminate the rule that only doctors can perform abortions and force most insurance plans to cover abortions.
At the time, he expressed concern that relaxing standards for who can obtain abortions could put women at risk.
A few weeks later, after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was announced, Hogan committed to protecting access Abortion in Maryland. He was one of four Republican governors to do so.
If Hogan wins Maryland’s vacant Senate seat, he will join Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in calling themselves pro-choice. He is one of at least three Republicans in the Senate to do so.
“If you look at the definition of what I support, which is a woman’s right to make her own decisions, I would say it’s pro-choice,” Hogan said. explained to the New York Times.
Historically, both of Maryland’s Senate seats have been solidly Democratic, with Charles Mathias being the last Republican to serve in the Maryland Senate in the late 1980s.
Hogan, who just secured the Republican victory in Tuesday’s primary, is running against Democratic county executive Angela Allsbrooks for the Class 1 seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). We will be competing against each other.
Throughout his time as governor, Hogan cultivated a brand of moderate and was unflinching in his criticism of former President Donald Trump.
Hogan was one of the most popular governors in the country. According to some opinion polls.
Democrats, who want to protect their Senate seats, have begun to slam him, viewing abortion as a political weakness and trying to position him as a hard-line conservative.
“Larry Hogan has already shown up to us and said he’s not going to protect abortion rights. And the Republicans he’ll be joining in the Senate have made their agenda very clear.” Albrooks reprimanded X..
Allbrooks, who is running to become Maryland’s first black female senator, has announced her intention to grill Hogan on abortion.
Hogan’s campaign, which had just won the general election, ran ads touting support from the Democratic Party as it tried to flip the deep-blue seat.
Democrats face a tough Senate situation in the 2024 election cycle, needing to defend 23 seats, including three held by independents, while Republicans only need to defend 11 seats.
Given that the Senate is split 51-49, Republicans can regain control by flipping just two seats without a tiebreaking vote for vice president.
Hogan won re-election as Maryland’s governor in 2018, a blue wave year, with a vote of 55.4% to 43.5%. Maryland favored President Biden over President Trump in 2020 by more than 33 points.
The former Maryland governor is not the only one pushing the left on abortion as Republicans struggle with tough polling on the issue ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Last month, the 77-year-old President Trump opposed federal legislation restricting abortion and asked states to delay the issue.
