Maryland candidates debate abortion rights in widely watched US Senate race

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Democrat Angela Alsobrooks highlighted former Gov. Larry Hogan's actions in office as evidence he isn't as supportive of abortion rights as he now claims to be, while Hogan challenged the criticism during a debate in a widely watched Senate race in Maryland.

Alsobrooks, in the hourlong debate on Maryland Public Television, criticized Hogan's veto of a bill in 2022 to expand abortion rights by ending a restriction that only physicians can provide abortions in the state. The Legislature overrode the veto, and the law enables nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide care.

“The Republican Party has declared war on women’s reproductive freedoms," Alsobrooks said. “We recognize that this party of chaos and division that is led by (former President) Donald Trump is one that cannot lead our country and also has severe consequences for Marylanders.”

Hogan emphasized that he supports abortion rights, and said Alsobrooks' criticism of him didn’t reflect his position. He said he would cosponsor legislation to codify Roe v. Wade, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2022. The former governor said his veto was due to concern about allowing health care providers who aren't doctors perform abortions.

“It was allowing non-medical professionals, and for you to lie about something as important as this issue, it really is insulting," Hogan said.

The former governor also said he would be an independent voice who will stand up to partisanship in the Senate and do what he believes is best for the nation.

“You’re going to hear nothing but red vs. blue," Hogan said. "I care more — a lot more — about the red, white and blue.”

The race is getting national attention because it is unusually competitive this year in a deeply blue state where its outcome could determine whether Democrats or Republicans get control of the Senate.

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate advantage, including independent senators who caucus with Democrats. And Democrats have to defend 23 seats out of the 33 Senate seats on the ballot around the country this November.

If elected, Alsobrooks would be Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator.

While a Republican has not won a Senate race in Maryland in more than 40 years, Hogan has wide name recognition. In the last two U.S. Senate races in Maryland, the Democratic candidate won by more than 30 percentage points against candidates who were not well-known. But Hogan, who once considered running for president and has often appeared on national news programs, is the most formidable Republican candidate in years.

In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2-1, the popular two-term former governor won over enough Democratic voters to win two statewide races in 2014 and 2018.

Still, Hogan has a difficult needle to thread. This election was the first time Hogan is running on the same ballot as Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland. Hogan has been one of the GOP's fiercest Trump critics, which has helped him win support from some Democrats, but also risked turning off some Republican voters.

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights have become a major campaign issue around the country. Maryland voters will be deciding whether to pass a constitutional amendment in November to enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution. Maryland is one of nine states where abortion rights on the ballot this year.

Since 2018, Alsobrooks has served as the county executive of Prince George’s County, Maryland’s second most populous jurisdiction in the suburbs of the nation’s capital. Before that, she served as the county’s top prosecutor since 2011.