In his big bet to help the GOP win the Senate, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan hopes to calm the huge number of angry Republicans who have been upset about the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Hogan made good on his promise to make Roe v. Wade a law if he wins the election this November in his first general election ad, which came out on Tuesday. Since the Supreme Court’s historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, President Joe Biden and Democrats have failed to return abortion rights across the country.
A leader in Prince George’s County named Angela Alsbrooks is being challenged by Hogan. After a rough Democratic primary, Alsobrooks beat Rep. David Trone last week. Trone tried to beat her for over $60 million. She became rich by helping to start Total Wine.
This November, Maryland’s Senate race will be one of the most closely watched.
Because he supports abortion rights, Hogan is one of the few well-known Republicans who does so. In the past few years, people from both parties have become less likely to disagree with their views on abortion rights as those views have become more rigid. Only Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are Republicans in the Senate who want to make Roe v. Wade a law. People who are against abortion, and who strongly back many other Republicans, have been working for decades to overturn Roe.
It’s been hard for Republicans across the country to figure out how to talk about abortion. When he said he would mostly leave the problem up to the states, former President Donald Trump upset some of his allies.
Hogan is not a loud backer of abortion rights.
The Associated Press reported that he vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have made it easier for people in Maryland to get abortions. When the lawmakers overrode Hogan’s veto, he used his power to stop funding that would have helped teach people who aren’t doctors how to do abortions. Hogan said he needed to think more about his opinion on abortion rights when he first said he was running for the Senate. After that, he quickly came out in support of making Roe official.
Hogan is running for the Senate in a state that hasn’t had a GOP senator elected since 1980. He was governor for two terms. Still, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sees Hogan as a very good candidate because Hogan has a history of winning.
They are in a tough spot when it comes to abortion.
The Dodds decision by the Supreme Court caused a reaction that hurt Republicans especially in the 2022 midterms. When the subject of abortion rights has been on the ballot, some GOP officials have tried to back groups that are against them. Also, that hasn’t worked. Since Roe v. Wade, people who support abortion rights have never lost an election-related case.
Rights to abortion are already on the ballot in Florida this November because of the work of Democrats. In Arizona, a key swing state, a similar attempt is about to start. In the past few years, election measures haven’t been very helpful for Biden. That being said, the president’s reelection needs all the help it can get because his approval rate is so low.
It would also be too many people for Hogan to win. If he loses, the GOP will almost certainly take charge of the Senate. Since almost all Republicans want to limit abortion rights, no Republican Senate is going to make a real effort to write Roe into law. The filibuster would quickly stop the vote, even if Hogan managed to get it to happen. In fact, it’s much more likely that the GOP will be pushed to pass some kind of national abortion ban if they win the House, the Senate, and the presidency again in November.
This kind of ban would not be signed into law by Trump, but an anti-abortion House and campaigners may find ways to test him. A number of Trump’s supporters have also thought of ways that the White House could be used to limit access to abortion without passing a bill.
