Maryland candidates debate abortion rights in widely watched US Senate race
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Democrat Angela Alsobrooks highlighted former Gov. Larry Hogan’s actions during his time in office as evidence that he is not as supportive abortion rights as he now claims to be, as Hogan challenged the criticism during a debate in a widely watched Senate race in Maryland.
Alsobrooks criticized the hour-long debate on Maryland Public Television Hogan’s veto of a bill in 2022 to expand abortion rights by ending the restriction that only doctors can perform abortions in the state. The Legislature overrode the veto and the law allows nurses, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide care.
“The Republican Party has declared war on women’s reproductive freedoms,” Alsobrooks said. “We recognize that this party of chaos and division, led by (former President) Donald Trump, is one that cannot lead our country and also has serious consequences for Marylanders. .”
Hogan emphasized that he supports abortion rights and said Alsobrooks’ criticism of him did not reflect his position. He said he would co-sponsor legislation to codify Roe v. Wade, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2022. The former governor said his veto was due to concerns about allowing health care providers who are not doctors to perform abortions.
“Allowing non-medical professionals, and you, to lie about something as important as this issue is truly insulting,” Hogan said.
The former governor also said he would be an independent voice who will oppose partisanship in the Senate and do what he believes is best for the nation.
“You’re not going to hear anything other than red versus blue,” Hogan said. “I care more – much more – about red, white and blue.”
The race is gaining national attention because it is unusually competitive this year in a deep blue state where its outcome could determine whether Democrats or Republicans gain control of the Senate.
Democrats currently hold a 51-49 lead in the Senate, including independent senators who align with Democrats. And Democrats must defend 23 of the Senate’s 33 seats in November’s nationwide votes.
If elected, Alsobrooks would be Maryland’s first black U.S. senator.
Although a Republican has not won a Senate race in Maryland in more than forty years, Hogan enjoys broad name recognition. In the last two U.S. Senate races in Maryland, the Democratic candidate won by more than 30 percentage points against candidates who were not well known. But Hogan, who once considered running for president and often appeared on national news programs, is the most formidable Republican candidate in years.
In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, the popular two-term former governor won over enough Democratic voters to win two statewide elections in 2014 and 2018.
Still, Hogan has a tough needle to thread. This election marked the first time that Hogan has been on the same ballot as Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland. Hogan has been one of the Republican party’s fiercest Trump critics, which has helped him win the support of some Democrats but also risked turning away some Republican voters.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights have become a major campaign issue across the country. Maryland voters will decide in November whether to approve a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state Constitution. Maryland is one of nine states where abortion rights are on the ballot this year.
Since 2018, Alsobrooks has served as county executive of Prince George’s County, Maryland’s second-most populous jurisdiction located on the outskirts of the nation’s capital. Before that, she served as the province’s top prosecutor since 2011.