Deep-blue Maryland has been a stronghold for Democrats in general elections for decades. But with a popular former Republican governor running for an open Senate seat and eight House races, the Old Line State could spring a few surprises this November. In this series, Old Line, New Battles: Maryland feels the primary pinch, the Washington Examiner will look at the key figures and important issues six months until Election Day. Part eight will focus on former Gov. Larry Hogan’s pivot to the general election after securing the GOP nomination.
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Larry Hogan wasted little time Tuesday night pivoting to the general election against his Democratic opponent after gliding to victory in the Maryland Senate Republican primary.
Before even knowing which Democrat he would face, as his race was called over an hour before the Democratic primary, Hogan sought preemptively to address what could be his biggest hurdle to winning the deep blue state in November: abortion access.
“Over the next few months, you are going to hear a lot more of this political BS Marylanders will be inundated with scare tactics and false attacks. Don’t let them get away with it, and let me once again set the record straight tonight,” the former two-term governor told supporters gathered at his victory party. “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.”
Hogan has dodged which measures he would support to protect abortion access but has vowed to reject national GOP efforts to pass limitations on it.
Democrats were also quick to the punch.
The party’s Senate campaign arm unveiled a new attack ad within minutes of Hogan’s victory, panning the centrist GOP candidate by using his own words that he’s a “lifelong Republican” and tying him to the national party brand.
“Hogan said it himself: A vote for Republican Larry Hogan is a vote to turn the Senate over to Republicans so they can pass a national abortion ban and push forward Republicans’ extreme policies,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman Amanda Sherman Baity said. “That’s a disqualifying agenda for Maryland voters.”
Hogan vowed not to be “just one more Capitol Hill Republican” and said he plans to “stand up to the current president, the former president, to the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party.”
In what amounted to a major election blunder, Rep. David Trone (D-MD) lost the Democratic primary to Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. The loss was despite Trone, the wealthy Total Wine & More co-founder, pumping some $60 million of his own money to staff his campaign and spend in the hotly contested race.
The open Senate seat is being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and has become one of the country’s most closely watched races as Democrats fight to maintain their razor-thin one-seat majority in the chamber. A Hogan win would all but zap Democrats’s chances of keeping control.
“Electing Angela Alsobrooks will stop Republicans from taking control of the Senate and ensure that Republican Larry Hogan’s party cannot pursue their dangerous agenda like passing a national ban on abortion,” DSCC Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) said.
Hogan congratulated Alsobrooks on social media and posted that he “value[s] our respectful relationship.” Her upset over Trone saved Hogan from facing a financial onslaught of campaign attacks but could chip away at his ability to convince Democrats to cross the aisle as Alsobrooks looks to galvanize the party and become Maryland’s first black senator.
Hogan will not only need to win over some independents and Democrats but will also have to motivate the Republican base, some of whom he could have alienated with his disdain for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Still, 52-year-old William Ridgley of Millersville, Maryland, told the Washington Examiner that he would like to seek the pair “work together.”
“I understand Hogan and Trump they don’t like each other. I would like to see them work together,” said Ridgley. The small-business owner attended Hogan’s victory party and said he voted for Trump in the presidential primary earlier that day.
“Put aside their differences and come together. Unstoppable team, Batman and Robin,” Ridgley envisioned for a Trump-Hogan relationship.
Barbara Hopkins, a retired police officer whose father, Alfred Archibald Hopkins Jr., was the Democratic mayor of Annapolis from 1989 to 1997, told the Washington Examiner she admired that Hogan has “respected everyone’s opinions.” She is a Republican who also voted for Trump.
With more than 70% of ballots counted as of Tuesday night, Hogan pulled in roughly 62% of the vote compared to Trump-aligned opponent Robin Ficker’s 30%.
Hogan reflected on the record of his father, Larry Hogan Sr., who served as a Maryland congressman from 1969-1975, in his speech. Hogan boasted of the similarities between his own criticism of the GOP and Trump to that of his late father’s political career.
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“He became the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Nixon. He put aside party politics and his own personal considerations. He stepped up to do the right thing for Maryland and the nation,” Hogan said. “I learned a lot about integrity and public service from him, and I have tried to live by the example he set.”
Maryland’s Democratic and Republican Senate primaries saw a whopping $56 million just in advertising spending, with nearly 82% coming from Trone’s campaign, making it the state’s all-time most expensive race, per AdImpact. The money foreshadows the national spotlight that the general election contest is sure to garner in the coming months.
