Campaign

Hogan highlights compliments from Democrats in new ad

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks to supporters during a primary night election party Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Annapolis, Md., after he won the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat opened by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin's retirement. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who is currently running for the Senate, highlighted compliments from multiple Democratic politicians in a new advertisement.

The video features clips of figures including current Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), President Biden, former President Clinton, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) and Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) all providing positive feedback for Hogan.

Alsobrooks and Hogan both won their respective parties’ primaries for Maryland’s open Senate seat Tuesday, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ. The two are now set to compete to replace Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who will be retiring at the end of his term.

The former governor announced Wednesday that he was starting a “Democrats for Hogan” initiative.

“I am excited to launch Democrats for Hogan and have my good friend and former Democratic State Senator Bobby Zirkin on our team,” he wrote in a post in a post on the social platform X, alongside a video featuring the state lawmaker throwing his support behind Hogan.

“To my Democratic and Independent friends,” Hogan continued, “You know me and you know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good. You know that I have the courage to put people over politics and to put country over party. I will continue to be the same strong independent leader for Maryland that I always have been.”

He added, “If you are completely fed up with the divisiveness and dysfunction and want a strong, independent leader who will fight to clean up the mess in Washington — then join us.”

Hogan is a popular former governor in the Old Line State, mostly seen as a Democratic stronghold, and has often bucked his party by criticizing the actions of former President Trump. In the ad, Moore is quoted saying he applauds Hogan for being willing to call out Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement.

Alsobrooks and Trone, whom she beat in the primary, also commended Hogan for being easy to work with in their respective clips. Biden and Clinton gave similar accounts, with the sitting president saying he did a “heck of a job.”