U.S. Senate candidates vying to represent Maryland mostly stuck to their campaign scripts during their only debate of the unusually close race in a reliably blue state.
But there were some big clashes as they fielded questions for an hour at the debate moderated by NBC’s chief political analyst Chuck Todd at Maryland Public Television in Owings Mills.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive and Democratic Senate candidate, said she will create “economic opportunity for every Maryland family. I’ll also fight for our freedoms, like a woman’s right to choose contraception and IVF. I’ll also fight to make sure that we are ending gun violence in America.”
Larry Hogan, the former two-term Maryland governor and Republican Senate candidate, said he decided to run because he had “never been more concerned about the direction of our country. What we see today is nothing but divisiveness and dysfunction in Washington, where nothing every seems to get done. Our country is being torn apart by the extreme voices on both sides.”
Alsobrooks and Hogan clash
Almost immediately after the collegial opening statements, the candidates began to clash and frequently accused each other of lying.
“What we know is that the former governor is a person who vetoed important abortion care legislation and also vetoed important legislation that would have created a simple ban on ghost guns and would have also disallowed long guns and created a waiting period,” Alsobrooks said. “The Republican Party has declared war on women’s reproductive freedoms, we recognize that this party of chaos and division that is led by Donald Trump is one that cannot lead our country and also has severe consequences for Marylanders.”
Hogan said he promised to support women’s access to abortion, ‘and I delivered on that promise for eight years.”
“You’re going to hear nothing but red versus blue” in the debate,” he said. “I care a lot more about the red, white and blue. I’ve been the leading voice in my party, standing up to some of the things you’re talking about…Your entire campaign is based on multiple things that are completely not true.”
The 51st vote
A frequent criticism of the candidates is who would be the rubber stamp for their party.
Alsobrooks said she supports the Democratic platform. Hogan said he would not be afraid to stand up to his party.
“Voters of Maryland know me, and they know my proven track record of standing up to Donald Trump, to Mitch McConnell and to the Republican Party. I probably stood up more than anyone in America,” Hogan said.
He added that he got things done as a Republican governor while working with a Democratic legislature, and he accused his opponent following her party.
“I support the Democratic agenda to codify in federal law a woman’s right to choose. I support banning assault weapons. I support middle class tax cuts. So I support the Democratic agenda,” she said.
But she noted she stood up to her party in the fight to get the FBI headquarters in Maryland.
Did Alsobrooks pay her tax debt?
Alsobrooks said she has always paid her taxes and was unaware when she took over her grandmother’s mortgage.
“I paid her mortgage until I sold the house about six years ago and never knew that she had a senior tax credit because I never applied for one,” she said.
When she learned about it, she said she reached out to Washington, D.C., government to pay the debt.
“I paid back the amount of the tax credit, and I’m working to pay off the interest,” she said.
Would Hogan really be independent in the Senate?
Hogan has positioned himself as a maverick in the race, drawing comparisons to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
But critics have questioned — if he claims he will vote as an independent — why isn’t he running as an independent?
Todd, the moderator, asked if he can really claim independence from Senate Republicans if the National Republican Senate Committee is funding his TV ads.
Voters know his “proven record” of standing up to Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I’ve been on your show multiple times,” Hogan said to Todd. “I’m one of the harshest critics.”
Who’s to blame for the economy?
The cost of living is the top issue driving voters to the polls in Maryland, according to polling.
When asked who’s to blame for inflation, Hogan laid it at the feet of both major political parties.
“This is one that Republicans and Democrats can both take blame for because they both ran up the debt and continue to cause these kinds of problems,” he said.
Hogan also noted that voters don’t feel like inflation is coming down. “The average person doesn’t feel like it has. It’s what I ran for governor on. I was so frustrated that things weren’t affordable, and my focus was on making life more affordable.” He said he cut taxes eight years in a row in Maryland.
Alsobrooks said, “We’re going to have to make sure that we are holding big corporations accountable, causing them to pay their fair share of taxes. I’ll cut taxes for the middle class and, by the way, I don’t propose raising taxes on anyone who earns under $400,000.”
Would you expand the Supreme Court?
Alsobrooks said she supports a Democratic plan to expand the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13.
“I’m very concerned about the Supreme Court. I think they no longer represent the will of the people,” she said. “I do support reforms for the Supreme Court. One of them would be to have term limits. I also agree with the notion of expanding the Supreme Court.”
Hogan said, “If there’s one thing that we should not be politicizing, it’s the Supreme Court, and yet it has been politicized by both sides. And I think trying to change the rules to jam things through on a party line vote is not the right way to go about it.”
Candy Woodall is the opinion editor at The Baltimore Sun. She wants to read your thoughts on the debate and can be reached at cwoodall@baltsun.com.