Republican senators were shown new internal polling during a private lunch that has former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) besting Angela Alsobrooks (D) in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race, 47% to 41%, Axios reports.
Larry Hogan Keeps His Distance from Trump
Politico: “Just days after being endorsed by the former president, the Maryland Senate hopeful released a new spot Monday that doesn’t name Trump at all but instead stresses his independence from the GOP. He invokes his father, Larry Hogan Sr., the first GOP congressmember on the Judiciary Committee to call for President Richard Nixon’s impeachment, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who bucked his party to save Obamacare.”
Says Hogan at the end of his ad: “As President Kennedy said, ‘Sometimes party loyalty demands too much.’”
Trump Endorses Larry Hogan’s Senate Bid
Donald Trump told Fox News he is endorsing former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) Senate campaign bid.
Said Trump: “I’d like to see him win. I think he has a good chance to win… I know other people made some strong statements, but I can just say from my standpoint, I’m about the party and I’m about the country. And I would like to see him win.”
Axios: “Trump very rarely shows any goodwill toward candidates who do not support him, but he made an exception for Hogan because flipping Maryland’s open Senate seat would go a long way in helping Republicans regain control of the Senate.”
Larry Hogan Will Skip the Republican Convention
U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R), the former two-term governor of Maryland, won’t attend next month’s Republican National Convention that will be led by Donald Trump, a Hogan political adversary, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Hogan did not attend GOP conventions in 2016 and 2020 either.
Larry Hogan Slammed by Top Trump Aide
After former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called on Americans to “respect the verdict” in Donald Trump’s criminal trial, Trump strategist Chris LaCivta tweeted: “You just ended your campaign.”
Punchbowl News: “You’re either all in for Trump or you’re against him. His camp is watching everything every Republican says very closely and is ready to pounce on any sign of perceived weakness or disloyalty.”
“There’s no middle ground for Republicans on Trump. There never has been and there never will be. This is the ‘Ride or Die’ campaign for president.”
Hogan Claims Republicans ‘Can’t Count on My Vote’
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is insisting in a new ad that Republicans can’t take his vote for granted in the Senate, Punchbowl News reports.
“Hogan’s campaign rolled out its second TV ad of the general election on Tuesday. The goal: Convince Maryland voters that the well-regarded two-term governor will be an independent-minded senator.”
Said Hogan: “If they want my vote, they will have to do what is right for Maryland — not one political party.”
Larry Hogan Seeks to Neutralize Abortion as an Issue
Politico: “Hogan’s first general election ad is set to air Wednesday, and it’s entirely about abortion. In it, the former governor goes direct-to-camera as he endorses codifying the abortion protections the nation had under Roe v. Wade.”
Said Hogan, in the ad: “With Roe overturned, many have asked what I’ll do in the United States Senate. I’ll support legislation that makes Roe the law of the land in every state, so every woman can make her own choice.”
Larry Hogan Now Says He Supports Abortion Rights
“Larry Hogan, the former two-term Republican governor of Maryland who this week won his party’s nomination for the state’s open Senate seat, said in an interview on Thursday that he supports legislation to codify abortion rights in federal law, describing himself as ‘pro-choice’ in a remarkable pivot as he heads into a highly competitive race,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Hogan, who just two years ago vetoed a state law to expand abortion access in Maryland, also said he would vote to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution, a measure that will be on the ballot in November. He had previously declined to take a clear stance on either issue.”
Politico: Larry Hogan’s won tough races before. Never like this.
Democrats Are Ready for Larry Hogan
Playbook: “Now that the Maryland Senate matchup is set, Democrats are wasting no time teeing off on Hogan — painting him not as an aisle-crossing dealmaker and Trump skeptic, but as a self-described ‘lifelong Republican’ who will largely toe the party line once elected.”
A new digital ad and fundraising site shares a simple message: “A vote for Larry Hogan is a vote for a Republican Senate majority.”
Alsobrooks Defeats Trone In Senate Primary
“Angela Alsobrooks, backed by Maryland’s governor and other leading Democrats, defeated wealthy, self-funded Democrat David Trone for a chance to become the state’s first Black U.S. senator,” the Baltimore Sun reports.
“If she defeats the Republican nominee, former Gov. Larry Hogan, in November, she would also become only the fourth Black woman in U.S. Senate history.”
Democrats’ Ugliest Primary Comes to an End
“Maryland voters on Tuesday will end one of the ugliest Senate primaries of the cycle, choosing between wealthy businessman Rep. David Trone (D-MD) or county executive Angela Alsobrooks, a favorite of state party leaders,” Axios reports.
“The choice is a monumental one for Maryland Democrats, as the party will face former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a popular Republican, in November. The deep-blue state is suddenly competitive.”
Does Larry Hogan Have a Future in the GOP?
New York Times: “Hogan knows that his side of the party — what he calls ‘the Republican wing of the Republican Party’ — lost that battle. He knows that many of his fellow Never Trumpers have lost re-election, decided to retire or changed their tune. And he is running for Senate anyway, gearing up for a fierce battle that will test whether there is any path forward for anti-Trump Republicans seeking federal office in 2024.”
Said Hogan: “I do feel a little bit like I’m running toward the burning building.”
David Trone’s Firm Donates to Anti-Abortion Republicans
“Five years ago, Rep. David Trone (D-MD) appeared to have put his days as a GOP donor behind him. The liquor store tycoon had just won a U.S. House seat representing Maryland’s 6th District, despite some critics questioning his progressive bona fides. Over the previous two decades, Trone had contributed more than $150,000 to Republicans nationwide. It was the cost of doing business, he said. Since then, his personal donations have been almost exclusively to Democrats and left-leaning advocacy groups,” Time reports.
“Now, Trone is running for a rare open Senate seat in Maryland, one of America’s most liberal states. He’s campaigning as a progressive who will work to safeguard abortion access.”
“But in the years since Trone joined Congress, his company has sent tens of thousands of dollars to anti-abortion Republicans across the country.”
Maryland Senate Primary a Dead Heat
A new Emerson College Polling/The Hill/DC News Now survey in Maryland finds the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in a dead heat: 42% of voters support Angela Alsobrooks, while 41% support David Trone. Twelve percent are undecided.
When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward and are accounted for in the candidate’s total support, Alsobrooks’ support increases to 47%, and Trone’s to 44%.
David Trone Flexes His Bank Account in Maryland Primary
Politico: “With the contest two weeks away, Trone is explicitly making his bank account a selling point, testing whether it’s more important for Democrats to diversify the overwhelmingly white and male Senate — or to have the resources to save their deeply endangered incumbents.”
“A Trone victory would mean an unbroken string of white senators from a state where nearly one in three residents is Black, and raise questions about the stated values of a party that calls Black women its backbone.”
Larry Hogan Says He Won’t Leave the GOP
Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R) “confirmed that he would caucus with Republicans in Washington, despite his concerns about Donald Trump’s grip on the party,” the AP reports.
“He also vowed not to leave the GOP after the election, even if Trump returns to the White House.”
Said Hogan: “I’m a real Republican.”
Rolling Stone: Hogan’s error-laden memoir villainized Baltimore.
The Biggest Self-Funder in Senate Primary History
After dropping another $18.5 million of his own cash into his Maryland Senate campaign to bring his total over $40 million, Rep. David Trone (D-MD) is now “officially the biggest self funder of a Senate primary in American history,” Inside Elections reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I still don’t have any burning desire to be a senator. I wasn’t looking for a title. I don’t need a job. But I’m just so frustrated with how broken our political system is.”
— Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan (R), quoted by CNN.