Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan made his pitch to Jewish voters on Wednesday, as the Republican seeks an upset victory to represent the deep-blue state in the Senate.
Speaking at a virtual town hall hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Hogan cited his support for Israel as a policy area that distinguishes him from his Democratic opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, executive of Prince George’s County, Md.
“Oct. 7 was a time for choosing,” Hogan said on the call. “I chose to be the strongest advocate for Israel and the Jewish community, and standing up on antisemitism, which makes me different than my opponent.”
“My opponent has called for an immediate ceasefire,” the former governor added.
Alsobrooks has aligned herself with U.S. President Joe Biden in calling for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal and threatening to cut off military aid to the Jewish state if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t heed U.S. demands.
“I believe we all share the goal of removing the threat of Hamas, getting the hostages returned to their families, protecting innocent civilians and securing an immediate ceasefire,” Alsobrooks told The Washington Post in May. “I do not support an invasion of Rafah and agree with President Biden if Netanyahu does not change course that the U.S. will need to withhold offensive weaponry.”
‘Trying to bring everyone together’
Hogan said that Alsobrooks would be more aligned with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), one of the Senate’s sharpest Israel critics, than with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a Jewish, pro-Israel senator, whose impending retirement prompted the Maryland senate race.
“I can tell you that I’m really perplexed and concerned that Sen. Van Hollen, who I respected and worked with, why he has become so hostile,” Hogan said on the call. “He is, I believe, the most anti-Israel member of the entire Senate—he and Bernie Sanders—so we have a completely different position on that issue.”
Hogan was a popular, two-term governor and has kept the race for Cardin’s seat competitive in a state that Biden won by more than 30 points in 2020. An August poll had Hogan and Alsobrooks tied, although more recent polls show Alsobrooks leading by about 10 points.
Hogan touted his political differences with former President Donald Trump as a reason that Maryland voters can trust him.
“I will be the most outspoken voice—the most bipartisan, most common-sense person that has already a proven ability to stand up to Donald Trump,” he said on the call. “I’ll stand up to whoever the president is and to either party when I think they’re wrong.”
Hogan joked that he was trying to reach all Jewish voters in Maryland, despite the divide between residents of the D.C. area and Baltimore.
“I’ve spent a lot of this campaign trying to reach the Jewish community all across the state,” Hogan said. “I know sometimes you guys don’t always talk to the Baltimore-area guys, but I’m talking to both. I’m trying to bring everybody together.”