Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is launching two new campaign ads Thursday, pushing back on attacks on the Republican Senate candidate’s reproductive rights stance and featuring his three daughters and four granddaughters.
“When Larry Hogan married my mom, he became a father to three strong, independent women, and he gained our trust. He became our dad. Now, once again, they’re attacking him as anti-women,” Hogan’s daughter, Jaymi Sterling, said in a new ad titled “Trust.”
“He supports choice by restoring Roe in every state. As pop-pop to four granddaughters, we know you can trust him too,” Sterling added.
Hogan’s new ads come as EMILY’s List, which backs Democratic women who support abortion rights, announced that it was pouring $2.2 million into the race on Thursday, with attack ads hitting the airwaves targeting Hogan’s stance on abortion. Democrats are leaning on abortion rights to help overcome Hogan’s personal popularity in the Senate race in deep-blue Maryland, which is not usually competitive.
Hogan’s new ads are the first of his campaign that showcase the women in his family defending his positions on reproductive rights — in what has become a theme for Republican candidates in the Dobbs era, many of whom have relied on female relatives to help win over skeptical women voters.
The second ad, titled “Girl Dad”, highlights Hogan’s record on protecting access to contraceptives and equal pay while serving as governor. The two 30-second spots are part of an $8 million media buy that will air on cable, broadcast and digital platforms across Maryland.
As Maryland governor in 2022, Hogan vetoed legislation that would expand abortion access in the state by ending a restriction that only physicians could provide the procedure. After his veto was overridden, Hogan withheld $3.5 million of funding set aside to train non-physicians to provide abortions.
EMILY’s List’s super PAC, Women Vote!, highlighted his veto of the legislation in a recent ad.
Hogan spokesperson Blake Kernen said in response to the ad that the bill Hogan vetoed “threatened to lower the standard of care for Maryland women. It had nothing to do with access to abortion.”
Hogan, a former two-term governor, will face off against Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks this fall in the election for Maryland’s Senate seat. A new poll from Gonzales Research conducted Aug. 24-30 shows Alsobrooks slightly ahead of Hogan but within the margin of error, with 46% of registered voters supporting Alsbrooks, versus 41% support for Hogan; 11% are undecided.
Still, the threat of Hogan’s candidacy has some Democrats nervous about maintaining control of the seat in the state. Alsobrooks and outside groups have worked to tie Hogan to the broader Republican Party, especially on the issue of abortion.
Hogan has consistently pushed back on attacks on his abortion record, telling NBC News in May that he would never support a national abortion ban. In recent months, Hogan has gone further, casting himself as a “pro-choice” candidate and vowing to restore Roe v. Wade if elected.
Hogan left the governor’s office in 2022 with one of the highest approval ratings in the country, and he has tried to distance himself from former President Donald Trump and national Republicans.
“He can try to mislead voters all he wants, but the truth is in the way he exercises power while in office. That’s why Mitch McConnell recruited him. He would hand Republicans the Senate majority, and honestly, his anti abortion track record is clear. When he was in office, he vetoed legislation that would have protected abortion access and blocked millions in crucial funding for abortion provider training. So the truth is there.” EMILY’s List’s communications director Yari Aquino told NBC News.
Democrats have made abortion central to their messaging since the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. In turn, GOP ads have featured more wives and other female family members defending the candidates.
Montana GOP Senate nominee Tim Sheehy released an ad in July spotlighting his wife, Carmen Sheehy, and sharing the story of how they met. Nevada GOP Senate nominee Sam Brown’s wife, Amy Brown, has been front and center in his campaign. In an NBC News interview, Amy Brown opened up about her personal abortion story, and Sam Brown said that his wife’s experience helped show him politicians have to “lead with compassion.”
Last election cycle, the male GOP candidates in Ohio, Arizona and Nevada all featured their wives in ads, amid campaigns that suggested the party was struggling to attract women voters. In 2022, Colorado GOP Senate nominee Joe O’Dea released an ad with his daughter touting his support for abortion access in the first five months of pregnancy.
The two ads are Hogan’s latest move to fend off Democrats’ abortion focused attacks that have been thrown at him since he entered the race in last year. Abortion has proved to be a mobilizing issue for Democrats, with a growing number of voters in swing states saying it’s central to their decision this fall, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released in August.
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