Maryland Republican Senate nominee Larry Hogan plans to release a new ad Wednesday intended to blunt the issue of abortion and distance him from the GOP.
In the ad, Hogan, who as governor vetoed a 2022 bill expanding abortion access, vows to back legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, according to Politico.
“With Roe overturned, many have asked what I’ll do in the United States Senate,” Hogan says in the ad. “I’ll support legislation that makes Roe the law of the land in every state, so every woman can make her own choice.”
Hogan dodged the issue throughout the Republican primary but has since done a remarkable about-face, declaring himself “pro-choice” and saying he would vote in favor of a November ballot measure enshrining reproductive freedom in Maryland’s constitution.
But if Hogan really wants to protect abortion rights nationwide, the only question that matters is: Will he caucus with Democrats? Because if he doesn’t, his newfound love for Roe would be useless in a GOP-led Senate that would block any effort to protect reproductive rights.
The truth is, a Hogan victory in Maryland would all but ensure a Republican takeover of the upper chamber—a death knell for codifying federal abortion protections.
Hogan’s new ad is part of a more than $1 million ad buy set to air on cable, broadcast, and digital platforms in markets across Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Hogan will face progressive Democrat Angela Alsobrooks in the general election. He proved to be a popular Republican governor in the blue state, often escaping the increasingly extremist bent of the national GOP, but Hogan has never run a race dominated by Donald Trump’s presence at the top of the ticket, and Democrats will seek to nationalize the race.
News of Hogan’s new ad broke just as a video of Trump pondering state regulation of contraception was pulsing through social media.
In a tweet this week, Alsobrooks featured codifying Roe first among her top three priorities, which also included banning the sale of assault weapons and protecting democracy from extremists.
Shortly after Politico reported on Hogan’s ad, Alsobrooks posted an announcement about winning the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund—just in case any voters needed clarity on which candidate reproductive freedom activists are backing.
Democrats may be in the minority in the Missouri Senate, but you wouldn’t know it after they staged an epic filibuster that just forced Republicans to abandon a cynical ploy to undermine direct democracy and thwart abortion rights.
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