Republicans seeking a vacant U.S. Senate seat in deep-blue Maryland have the most competitive candidate they have fielded in decades. But former Gov. Larry Hogan will need more than Republican support to overcome sustained anger over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down constitutional protections for abortion.
Maryland voters are scheduled to decide in November whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Reassembling a bipartisan coalition could be even more difficult.
His mission was vividly described by Lynne Johnson Langer, a Democrat who was walking to lunch in downtown Annapolis a few days after Hogan announced his Senate bid. Hogan is popular enough to win votes in her second gubernatorial race, but the stakes are too high for her to support giving Republicans another victory in the closely contested Senate.
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announces Republican Senate run
“We need more Democrats, so Hogan, I’m sorry,” Langer said. “I don’t think he’s a bad person. Like I said, I don’t always agree with him. In fact, there are a lot of things I don’t agree with him on.”
Hogan’s decision to veto a bill to expand abortion access in Maryland in 2022 is causing some controversy among voters like Langer. She said she clearly supports abortion rights and would likely support a candidate who doesn’t hedge.
Hogan has said that while he personally opposes abortion, he does not support taking away abortion rights. But as governor, he vetoed a bill that would have repealed the restriction that only doctors could provide abortions. When his veto was overridden by Democrats who control Congress, he used the power of his office to block funding set aside to support the training of non-physicians.
Then-Maryland Governor Hogan speaks at the Maryland State Capitol on January 10, 2023 in Annapolis, Maryland. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
Abortion is already protected under Maryland law, but Democrats who control the Legislature voted last year to put an amendment to the state constitution before voters. In doing so, they followed a tried-and-true political method used successfully in several states following Supreme Court decisions.
“This is an issue that Democrats care about, and it’s important to the state of Maryland. It doesn’t matter how popular you are with your base or how popular you are with independents, it’s a path to the Senate.” It doesn’t matter.” It’s passing Democrats in Maryland,” said Miriah Cromer, an associate professor of political science at Goucher College who wrote a book about Hogan. “We need Democratic votes to win, but that’s just a state calculation.”
Hogan is one of the few Republicans willing to criticize Donald Trump for appointing three conservative justices who formed the Supreme Court’s conservative majority that voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. As one person, he attracted national attention during his tenure as governor. That’s the same vote as the former president, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland.
Mary Kfoury, a Democrat from Edgewater, Maryland, praised Hogan for speaking out against Trump, but that wasn’t enough to win her votes.
“I really don’t think we can afford to run a Republican,” Kfoury said. “I want to keep Maryland as blue as possible, especially as things stay tense, but if we had to have a Republican in the Senate, I think he would be a great person, because “Because he truly speaks his mind and what he thinks. He stands for more traditional Republican values and he takes a courageous stand against Trump.”
Hogan focused his governorship on pocket money issues, largely avoiding social issues and maintaining civility with the Legislature. In the video announcing his candidacy, he emphasized that aspect of his tenure.
“For eight years, we’ve proven that the toxic politics that divide our country don’t have to divide our state,” Hogan said. “We overcame unprecedented challenges, lowered taxes for eight consecutive years, balanced the budget, and produced a record surplus. And we accomplished it all by finding common ground for the common good. did.”
Cromer described Hogan’s Senate candidacy as an “uphill battle,” but said that despite Democrats having a 2-1 advantage over Republicans in the state, approval ratings have consistently been high during his eight years as governor. He said it would be a mistake to dismiss a candidate who has maintained his position.
“For me, it wasn’t just that Hogan was popular, it was that Hogan was deeply popular for eight years,” he wrote in Blue State Republicans: How Larry Hogan Won Where Republicans Lost. , and lessons for future Republicans,” said Cromer, who wrote the book, “And Lessons for Future Republicans.”
Democrats running to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin pounce on concerns about abortion rights after Hogan announced a surprise bid for the Senate hours before the state filing deadline. Ta.
“We know what’s at stake in this election, and that’s our fundamental freedom over our bodies,” he said in the state’s second-largest jurisdiction on the outskirts of the capital. said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
Mr. Allsbrooks, who could make history as Maryland’s first black U.S. senator, is the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More and has given more than $23 million to his campaign during the Democratic primary. He’s running against Congressman David Trone, who invested in the deal.
“I will not vote to support a national abortion ban,” Hogan told CNN on Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time since announcing his candidacy last week.
She also said she understands “why this is such an important and emotional issue for women in Maryland and across the country,” but that abortion rights are already protected under state law, so Maryland’s He also stated that he does not think constitutional amendments are necessary.
The state approved a bill in 1991 that protects abortion rights in the event the Supreme Court upholds abortion restrictions. Voters showed their support for the law in a referendum the following year, with 62% supporting it.
“I think Democrats put this on the ballot to try to make this a political issue,” Hogan told CNN. “Voters can decide for themselves whether they think it’s important, but it doesn’t make us “Nothing will change in the state,” he said.
Albrooks said Hogan’s comments echo longstanding Republican rhetoric that claims public policy on abortion is “settled law.”
“That’s what they told us until the day they overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped away 50 years of precedent that protected our rights,” Allbrooks said in a statement. .
A Maryland law approved in 2022 to expand access to abortion was passed after advocates argued the measure was necessary because the state doesn’t have enough medical providers. They also said the state needs to be prepared to deal with the growing number of women coming to Maryland for abortions in the wake of bans in other states.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After the veto was overridden, Hogan, a Catholic, refused to release $3.5 million from the state budget to help fund training. One of Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s first actions as governor last year was to release funds that Hogan had withheld.
Mr. Hogan participated in the Republican primary along with seven other candidates, none of whom were as politically prominent as the former governor. One of the candidates, Robin Ficker, gained national attention a few years ago with his harsh sports taunts at a basketball game when Washington’s NBA team was playing in Landover, Maryland.
A Republican has not won a Senate election in Maryland since 1980.
