Senate Democrats aren’t buying Larry Hogan’s self-branded image of a political maverick who rises above the partisan fray.
Fresh off the Tuesday night primaries that cemented the former two-term Republican governor and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks as the party nominees for Maryland’s open Senate seat, Hogan critics are scrambling to box him into a “MAGA Republican” mold who threatens Democratic Senate control and access to abortion.
“I’m confident that the people of Maryland do not want to see a Republican majority,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of Senate Democrats’s campaign arm, told the Washington Examiner. “If you vote for Hogan, that could happen.”
Alsobrooks, the executive of Prince George’s County who pulled off a stunning primary upset over Rep. David Trone (D-MD), panned Hogan and “his BFF Mitch McConnell, and Donald Trump’s Republican party” for fighting to flip a Maryland Senate seat red for the first time since 1980.
Hogan will “give Republicans the majority that they need to pass a national abortion ban,” Alsobrooks told supporters Tuesday night. “He will not support a national law to protect abortion rights; he will not oppose anti-choice judges, including nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Hogan’s campaign on Wednesday launched a “Democrats for Hogan” initiative and said in a strategy memo that Alsobrooks’s vulnerabilities included being a “career and insider politician” whose record has so far largely escaped national media’s scrutiny.
“Ms. Alsobrooks is clearly part of the Maryland establishment and would represent the status quo,” Hogan chief strategist Russ Schriefer said.
Democrats are poised to see their one-seat Senate majority reduced to a 50-50 tie if they can successfully defend Maryland and a half-dozen other competitive races. A Republican flip in the Old Line State or any others, or a White House win, could tip the scales in the GOP’s favor.
“Marylanders understand that a vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to put MAGA Republicans in charge of the Senate,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told the Washington Examiner.
Hogan sought to blunt the attacks from the left in a Tuesday night victory speech to supporters.
“To my Democratic and independent friends, you know me, and you know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good,” he said. “You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican.”
Hogan further urged voters to tune out “political BS,” “scare tactics,” and “false attacks” from Democrats, particularly on the issue of abortion, which could present a major obstacle even for the anti-Trump Republican in a deep blue state.
“To the women of Maryland, you have my word that I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions just like I did for eight years when I had the honor and privilege to serve as your governor,” Hogan said.
While opposed to national abortion bans, Hogan has consistently dodged what protections he would support.
Arizona Senate Republican candidate Kari Lake, a Trump ally who rejected the 2020 election results and backed previous abortion bans, congratulated Hogan shortly after he was declared the nominee. She urged party unity to win over independents and Democrats as part of the GOP’s quest to win back the Senate.
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A spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), dinged the unofficial endorsement as a “brutal start” for Hogan.
“We have been watching extremists in this space since the Dobbs decision was leaked,” Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) told the Washington Examiner. “What we’re experiencing with Gov. Hogan is very similar. He is now going to try to convince Marylanders that he is going to stand and support them. He will be in this group, in this body, who will vote for a national abortion ban if they have a majority.”
