Fresh off her victory in the Maryland Democratic Senate primary, Angela Alsobrooks is punching holes in the everyman persona Larry Hogan cultivated over two terms as governor, telling supporters the Republican nominee is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Mr. Hogan‘s post-primary message, meanwhile, centers on assuring voters he’s the same solutions-oriented guy they’ve gotten to know and trust over the years as an independent voice.
It’s an early signal that Maryland’s U.S. Senate race will turn in large part on who does the best job of defining Mr. Hogan in a deep-blue state where the Trump-inspired Republican brand has proved toxic and Ms. Alsobrooks is seeking to make history as the state’s first Black senator.
Democrats can kiss goodbye their chances of defending their Senate majority if they lose the race to replace Sen. Ben Cardin, the three-term Democrat who opted against running for reelection.
Less than six months out from the election, the Hogan campaign is working to build a winning coalition of Republicans, independents and middle-of-the-road Democrats.
They hope the 67-year-old Hogan‘s record and pre-primary criticism of what he calls Mr. Trump’s poisonous effect on the GOP will make it harder to cast him in a partisan light.
SEE ALSO: Alsobrooks defeats Trone in Maryland’s Democratic Senate race, set to clash with GOP’s Hogan
That is crucial for him, given that registered Democrats hold a 2-1 advantage over registered Republicans in the state.
“To my Democratic and independent friends tonight, you know me. You know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good,” Mr. Hogan said at his election night party in Annapolis Tuesday. “You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican.”
Speaking directly to women, Mr. Hogan vowed to “protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions.”
He pledged to fight for safer streets, better schools and a stronger economy, plus promised to “secure the border and fix the broken immigration system.”
“You know that I have the courage to put people over politics and to put country over party,” he said. “And you know that I will stand up to the current president, the former president, to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.”
The Hogan campaign followed that up Wednesday by blasting out an email announcing a “Democrats for Hogan Coalition.”
Former state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, the group’s co-chairman, said Mr. Hogan is a solid leader who will help cut through the “hyper-partisanship in Washington” and work across party lines to get things done.
“I’ve been a lifelong Democrat, and as a Democrat, I’m excited to vote and support and work for Larry Hogan for the United States Senate,” Mr. Zirkin said in a video.
Ms. Alsobrooks and her team are painting a far different portrait of Mr. Hogan.
Mr. Hogan is a “lifelong Republican,” Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s “BFF” and an integral part of the Trump-led Republican Party’s push to flip the Senate and curtail abortion rights, Ms. Alsobrooks said at her election night party in Greenbelt after beating Rep. David Trone.
“If he is elected he will give Republicans the majority they need to pass a national abortion ban, and you also should be clear that 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 — even in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
“Given these positions, it isn’t all that surprising that Larry Hogan called abortion rights an emotional issue for women,” she said, eliciting boos and groans of disdain from her supporters. “We will always protect the right for women to make their own health care decisions, and come November Larry Hogan will understand that we do not need any help at all managing our emotions.”
In a fundraising email Wednesday, Ms. Alsobrooks said Mr. Hogan has opposed raising the minimum wage to $15, “commonsense gun legislation, and access to increased reproductive rights and abortion care in Maryland.”
She said he can’t be trusted on Social Security and Medicare, and said he will “give tax breaks to MAGA big money donors.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party’s money arm, got into action Wednesday, releasing a digital “Lifelong Republican” ad highlighting how Mr. Hogan has boasted about being a proud member of the GOP since the rise of President Ronald Reagan.
“A vote for Larry Hogan is a vote for a Republican Senate majority,” the ad says.