Alsobrooks and Hogan trade remarks on abortion, guns and the Republican Party in otherwise civil debates

In the only face-to-face, televised debate in the Maryland Senate race, Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks, a Prince George’s County executive, and former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan sought to define themselves as moderate, bipartisan team players, but was irritated over partisanship, abortion and gun violence.

The debate was hosted by Maryland Public Television, hosted by NBC News’ Chuck Todd and recorded Thursday afternoon.

While Maryland is a deep blue state, Alsobrooks faces a serious challenge from Hogan, who was considered a popular centrist Republican during his time in office. But in recent weeks, her lead has widened — a Washington Post poll in late September showed Alsobrooks ahead by 11 points. And the FiveThirtyEight polling average currently shows Alsobrooks leading Hogan by nearly nine points, 48.9% to 40.3%.

During the hour-long debate, Hogan sought to portray himself as an independent “outsider” who is not beholden to the Republican party machine.

“I served as governor under three presidents, worked with Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden… when I disagreed, I stood up forcefully and said I disagreed and I defied my party. I will stand against any party,” Hogan said.

Hogan is notably a long-time opponent of Trump within the Republican Party, but the former president’s influence dominates this race. Over the summer, Trump said he would like to see Hogan win the seat despite their strained relationship. Still, Hogan has said he has no plans to vote for Trump in the upcoming presidential election. During the debate, Hogan said he was the “leading voice against Project 2025 in the Republican Party.”

Alsobrooks rejected that characterization while emphasizing that a Republican majority in the Senate would have “tremendous” consequences for Marylanders, given Democrats’ already razor-thin margins.

“The fact is that if he wanted to be independent he should have stood as an independent. He did not choose to run as an independent. He chose to accept Mitch McConnell’s request.” [the race]Alsobrooks said.

Towards the end of the debate, she reiterated: “He had the opportunity to run as something different and he was happy to put on her jersey. When Mitch McConnell called him, he put on the jersey. He ran into the game,” she said.

Other heated arguments between the two revolved around the issue of abortion; Alsobrooks clearly believes that Republican leadership is destructive to women and that a Hogan victory – along with a Republican majority in the Senate – would mean a continuation of that danger.

“The Republican Party has declared war on women’s reproductive freedoms. We recognize that this party of chaos and division led by Donald Trump cannot lead our country and is also having serious consequences for Marylanders. Unfortunately, former Gov. Hogan accepted a request “Mitch McConnell’s invitation to enter this race because they want to give Republicans a majority in the Senate,” she said.

Alsobrooks also repeatedly criticized Hogan’s veto in 2022 of a bill in Maryland that would allow health practitioners (e.g. midwives) in addition to doctors to perform abortions, as evidence that Hogan would not “stand up for women.” However, Hogan’s veto was overridden by the Maryland Statehouse and the new law remained in place.

Hogan’s defense is not only that he believes the law endangers women’s health, but also that as governor he considers himself a champion of women’s rights and supports the codification of Roe v. Wade would use.

“I will support and promote the codification of Roe.” [v. Wade] “I said from the beginning when I was governor and ran for governor that I promised to support women’s access to abortion, and I’ve kept that promise for eight years,” Hogan said.

But they disagree about what technical steps Congress should take to get there. Alsobrooks said she joined Harris in her call to eliminate the Senate filibuster in support of abortion rights, while Hogan said it was a “terrible idea.”

“I like the idea of ​​having to continue to find people across the aisle to find that bipartisan compromise,” Hogan added.

The pair also disagreed about the role of the Supreme Court. Alsobrooks advocated for several reforms to the institution, including the introduction of term limits and the expansion of the board. Hogan disagreed with the addition of judges – a practice he called “court packing.”

“I think trying to change the rules to enforce party-line voting is not the way to go,” he said.

When pressed on whether he would have voted to confirm then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Todd said he didn’t know how he would have done since he wasn’t a sitting senator at the time.

Alsobrooks immediately hit back, noting that Hogan was in line with Trump’s agenda and supported his legal decisions. In 2022, in a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Hogan said that Trump’s judicial nominees were “incredible.”

Both Alsobrooks and Hogan said they were in favor of banning assault weapons. But Alsobrooks mocked Hogan’s leadership on the issue, pointing to another veto of his, this time over a background check measure. The state Senate ultimately overrode Hogan’s veto.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that the former governor did not have the courage to be a governor. He actually vetoed a bill that would have created a waiting period for long guns and flatly refused to sign the ghost gun ban. He could have done it. “He helped us on this issue, but instead he capitulated to the gun lobby and vetoed a ban that would have just created this waiting period for long guns and didn’t support us,” she said .

Hogan called Alsobrooks’ attacks “half-truths.”

On the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Hogan said there is “no question” that the U.S. should support Israel. Alsobrooks supported, among other things, a ceasefire and increased aid to the Palestinians.

“We are aware of the terrible attack that took place in Israel on October 7th and I believe that at this moment we have a duty to ensure that we return these hostages to their families and that we reach a ceasefire “We are also sure that we will bring help to the suffering Palestinians in Gaza, and we must reach a two-state solution so that we have peace and security in Israel,” she said.

Alsobrooks said she would attend a speech if Netanyahu addressed the Senate.