Democrats Develop a Major Headache in Their Attempt to Hold the Senate

Just when Democrats thought it was safe to go into the voting booth in Maryland, they find out they are now the underdogs to retain the Senate seat  in deep blue Maryland being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has entered the race. He is the only Republican in recent memory to win two terms as governor. He left office with a 77% approval rating and he was viewed favorably by more Democrats than Republican.

Now, I know a lot of Republicans will be howling at the moon because Hogan is a RINO and they are right, but that is only because Democrats tell them to, knowing they will be short sighted on the issue. Okay, suppose he wins and votes with the Democrats every single time. Would we be better off with a Democrat? No. Hogan, being a Republican would count towards the majority in that chamber.

The Majority leader is not required to bring any bill to a vote. Unlike the House there is no vote to petition to discharge. Every committee would have a Republican chairman. When Trump takes office a Republican majority can  more easily approve his nominations. There are other advantages. If you have friends crying against Hogan, you might want to remind them of these things.

Paul Ellington, Republican strategist based in Maryland and former state GOP executive director said:

“Republicans view this as a gift, and the Democrats view it as a nightmare.”

“I think there’s a very real chance that he could win, because he has a record to run on. He has eight years as being the governor, he did not raise taxes, he governed from a common sense point of view and [focused on] kitchen table issues. He didn’t get involved in … the partisan pettiness. In fact, he rose above it and made great strides in establishing himself as moderate, fair-minded governor. His poll numbers reflected that, that’s not just speculation. People would have reelected him as governor for a third term if [they] could have.”

From The Daily Caller

Hogan won the governor’s race in 2014 by nearly four points and secured a second term by roughly 12 points in 2018, becoming only the second Republican in state history to be reelected to the position. The then-governor battled non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma shortly after first taking office, and has been cancer-free since 2016.

The former governor left office in early 2023 with his statewide popularity intact, as 77% of Marylanders approved of his job performance. Democrats awarded Hogan with higher numbers than Republicans did at 81% to 68%, respectively, and 76% of unaffiliated voters approved of the governor.

Hogan overwhelmingly beat the other lesser-known Republican candidates included in the Emerson College poll, while Trone led Alsobrooks 32% to 17% for the Democratic primary among a crowded field.

Trone’s Senate campaign brought in $23.7 million this cycle and currently has $454,850 cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. Alsobrooks reported raising $5 million for the Senate race and entered 2024 with $3.1 million in hard dollars.

The congressman, who is a wealthy businessman, has already spent $23.4 million on the race compared to Alsobrooks’ $1.9 million, FEC data shows.

“There’s no question that this is an uphill battle, especially with a billionaire in the race who’s spent something like $25 million already, but Governor Hogan has already received an outpouring of support from Marylanders fed up with the status quo,” Michael Ricci, spokesman for the Hogan campaign, told the DCNF in a statement. “Democrats are in the middle of a bruising primary, and we’re looking forward to seeing who emerges when the smoke clears.”