Maryland, My Maryland

At Da Caller, Maryland’s $1,400,000,000 Deficit The ‘Inevitable Result Of One-Party Rule,’ Lawmakers Say. It would be easier to print $1.4 billion, but that wouldn't be as dramatic.

Maryland is staring down a budget deficit of about $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2027, according to budget projections released on Wednesday.

The newly released estimates from Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services (DLS) show that the deep blue state is expected to have structural deficits of $753 million in 2025, $259 million in 2026 and almost $1.2 billion in 2027. State lawmakers had previously projected a $321 million surplus for the start of fiscal year 2027 after finalizing the budget process when the 2025 legislative session ended, The Daily Record reported on Wednesday.
. . .
The new budgetary projections come after Maryland state lawmakers reached a budget deal in April which included $1.6 billion in new taxes while also cutting government spending, the Baltimore Banner reported on April 4.

“The outlook is a lot worse for fiscal [year] 27 than it was at the end of session,” David Romans, DLS’ fiscal and policy analysis coordinator, said on Wednesday, WBFF reported. “It’s about a billion and a half deficit versus a projected small surplus when we ended [the] session.”

Romans claimed that Maryland’s general fund revenues have been negatively impacted by President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Trump signed the sweeping tax and spending bill into law on July 4.

“Bottom line is, it was assumed at the end of session that we would get that additional $300 million a year in general fund revenues from the One Big Beautiful Bill being passed,” Romans said, according to WBFF. “We actually ended up with a negative impact of about $71 million in fiscal [year] 27. It’s a $371 million swing.”

Just a reminder, when Gov. Hogan left office in 2023, Maryland had a $5 billion surplus. The Tax Foundation ranks Maryland #46 for tax competitiveness "Maryland’s tax code is complex and includes all major tax types. The state has traditionally ranked among the bottom 10 states on the Index. Maryland has a progressive individual income tax system. Legislation retroactive to January 1, 2025, increased the state’s individual tax progressivity by expanding to 10 tax brackets, creating a new top marginal tax rate of 6.5 percent, and establishing a 2 percent capital gains surcharge for individuals with federal AGI exceeding $350,000. High-rate county income taxes, with new rates up to 3.3 percent, yield a substantially above-average income tax burden for Maryland residents." Only New York, New Jersey, California, Washington DC and Connecticut were worse.

Maryland, My Maryland

 Fox 45 News, Maryland's newly passed budget includes more than $1 billion in new taxes and fee

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has officially signed the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Bill into law. According to Moore, it’s designed to give the majority of Marylanders a much needed tax break. However, critics say any potential savings will be crushed by a wave of tax and fee hikes.

The $67 billion dollar spending plan is about 1% higher than the previous year. Despite the slight increase, lawmakers were aiming to tackle a $3.3 billion dollar deficit this session. They ultimately did so with about $2 billion in cuts and $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees.

The following is a list of some of the changes taxpayers can expect:

• New Vending Machine Tax: 6% sales tax applied to all vending machine purchases.
• Vehicle Excise Tax Increase: Raised from 6% to 6.8% on vehicle purchases. A plan to raise car registration fees will also be accelerated.
• Tire & Emissions Fees: New $5 per tire fee. Plus, the emissions testing fee doubled from $14 to $30.
• Cannabis and Sports Betting Tax Increases: Cannabis sales tax raised from 9% to 12%. Sports betting tax increased from 15% to 20%.
• New Tech Tax: 3% sales tax added to many IT and data services
• New Tax Brackets for Higher Earners: 6.25% for income $500,001–$1 million, 6.5% for over $1 million. Also adds a 2% capital gains surcharge for income over $350,000.

“We have a tax reform plan that for 94% of Marylanders, they either got a tax cut or saw no change,” said Moore at Tuesday’s bill signing.

Unless you buy from vending machines, drive a car, bet, smoke pot, or have someone work on your IT.

Just a reminder, when Gov. Hogan left office in 2022, Maryland was running a $5 billion surplus. At the end of this session, legislators were forced to address a $3.3 billion deficit by making cuts throughout state government and raising taxes and fees.

'Trust' - I Don't Think that Word Means What They Think It Means

WJZ News Chesapeake Bay restoration could take a hit if state removes millions from trust fund, advocates say

Maryland's budget shortfall could take a major toll on the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts. The trust fund has been a lifeline for projects that help clean the bay, restore habitats, and reduce pollution. However, state leaders are considering removing $2.59 million from the trust fund to cover state operating costs. The funds would be used for the general operations of the Department of Natural Resources.

The state of Maryland has long been a leader in restoration in large part because we have the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays trust fund," said Matt Johnston, the executive director of the Arundel Rivers Federation. "We will not be able to, in the next three to four years, do a project like this again if they zero out that fund."
. . .
Jesse Iliff, executive director of the Severn River Association, says a number of planned restoration projects are now in jeopardy. "They are critical to providing a healthy Chesapeake Bay and all of the economic benefits that come with that, like improved fisheries, improved tourism, improved property values." Iliff is concerned this decision to take from the trust fund could have long-term consequences.

"Five or 10 years down the line, the best we could hope for is maintaining the status quo, and that would be heavily dependent on the weather," he said.

I would remind readers that 2 years ago,  Gov. Hogan left office with $5 billion (with a 'b') surplus. After 2 years, with 2 more to go, Gov. Moore has turned that into a $3 billion deficit.  The $2.6 million they steal from the Chesapeake Bay cleanup is a drop in that bucket. So, maybe fiscal responsibility is good for the environment?

Maryland, My Maryland

Capital News Service, Maryland may dip into its climate fund to pay for other things.

Gov. Needs Wes Moore’s budget proposes redirecting funds originally meant for renewable energy initiatives to help patch the nearly $3 billion budget deficit instead.

If passed as Moore proposed, the budget would allow the state to withdraw $150 million from a special fund that invests in renewable energy initiatives and put it to other uses.

“It’s a lot of money, and we’re not thrilled about having that money taken, but we understand the challenges to the budget,” Kristen Harbeson, the political director for the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, told Capital News Service. “As long as this is a one-year, temporary solution … we do need that money for a lot of programs.”

The League of Conservation Voters commended the budget proposal in a statement earlier this month, highlighting funding set aside for environmental programs and climate action. At a Jan. 17 webinar with the group, Eric Gally, president of Gally Public Affairs, an Annapolis lobbying firm, said he was “very pleasantly surprised, I would actually say shocked, at how well our programs are funded.”

Moore’s 2026 budget plan touts an increase in funds for climate pollution reduction. And, in fact, it would double pollution reduction funds from $90 million last year to $180 million. That money would go to renewable energy initiatives that include solar installations on state property, local solar and geothermal projects, geothermal, and methane capture projects, and renewable energy grants for schools.

But his budget plan also proposes to cut general funding for environmental agencies and replace them with money from special funds, said Harbeson, including the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF).

This is the same special fund that the budget would draw $150 million from for the general fund.

If the budget is passed, the fund balance by the end of fiscal year 2026 would be nearly $340 million. For impacted environmental agencies, millions of dollars would come from other special funds, like the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund and Program Open Space as well as SEIF.

It’s a change that Harbeson says is not sustainable in the long term.

“It’s not great, but it’s okay for one year,” Harbeson said. “This is fine for this year, but this is not a sustainable option.”

Given that most of the environmental plans for the state are shams, akin to the current USAID scandal, I guess I'm not too upset. However, remember, Gov. Hogan (R) lowered taxes and left a $5 billion surplus. Two years later, his successor Gov. Moore (D) is running a $3 billion deficit, and is raising taxes and fees, and looking into accounting gimmicks and environmental projects to break even. 

Maryland, My Maryland

The local digital rag, the BayNet announces Maryland Faces Massive Budget Deficit: Governor Moore Announces Executive Order To Increase Economic Growth

In an address at the Maryland Association of Counties on Dec. 12, 2024, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced that the state is facing a budget deficit of $2.7 billion for the upcoming 2025 fiscal year.

“We in this state face a historic budget crisis, the likes of one we have not seen in decades,” Moore said. “We inherited loaded budgets, sluggish growth, and a structural deficit. … From 2017 to 2022, the national economy grew by 11%. … Maryland’s economy grew by 3%.” He added that during that same time frame, Maryland’s spending budget increased by 70%.

This is by no means new information; financial analysts have predicted this budget deficit since 2017, and it has been the subject of significant debate in both chambers of the Maryland legislature for several years. However, no consensus has been reached on how to confront the looming budget deficit.

When you get down to it, there are only 2 ways to shrink a deficit. Increase revenues (by raising taxes somewhere), or by cutting spending.

Curiously, far from inheriting the deficit, the Governor inherited a surplus of $5 Billion from the previous Republican Governor, Larry Hogan. Just one of the reasons my criticism of Larry has been muted. He's not the best Republican, but he's the best Republican Maryland elected in a long time.

Maryland, My Maryland

Sauron's Eye, Former Maryland Gov. Hogan calls for action from government after seeing drones above his home

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is calling on the federal government to take action after he shared a video of what he said were drones flying above his Anne Arundel County home.

It comes as mysterious drone sightings continue to baffle law enforcement and government officials in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Additional sightings have also been reported in Maryland.

On Friday, Hogan posted a video of the drones to social media, saying dozens of them appeared above his home in Davidsonville. The drones were active for about 45 minutes, Hogan said.

Last night, beginning at around 9:45 pm, I personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky above my residence in Davidsonville, Maryland (25 miles from our nation’s capital). I observed the activity for approximately 45 minutes.

Like… pic.twitter.com/Ipx8ctLmhs

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) December 13, 2024

I just love the community note.

I suppose I could tell my drone story. One day I was out on with Pete in the boat fishing on the eastern shore somewhere. Now, a lot of Pete's clients are military or ex-military. He got a call from a friend who said, "I'm watching you guys". He was flying a very high military drone on a practice mission. He even sent us a cellphone picture, but said, "I can't send you the good one."

Yep, there are drones out there. In the DC area, I have absolutely no doubt they know the origin of every damn thing up in the air.

Maryland, My Maryland

Robert Schmad at Da Caller, Dem Senate Candidate Had ‘No Interest Whatsoever In Immigration’ — Now Migrant Sex Offenders Are Flooding Her State

Democratic Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, while serving as the executive of Prince George’s County in 2019, said she had no interest in helping the federal government enforce immigration laws, according to a resurfaced video.

Alsobrooks, speaking to members of a Latino-focused healthcare nonprofit, vowed not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities as she believed doing so would go beyond her duty as a local official. Agents working at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Baltimore, the state’s largest city, arrested a record 161 noncitizen sex offenders as of Sept. 9, an all-time record. Baltimore County, like Alsobrooks’ Prince George County, is a “sanctuary” jurisdiction that restricts how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

“You probably have heard already, we made a very big statement, and we did so on purpose to say that the local government, I have no interest whatsoever in immigration, in serving detainers and all that kind of stuff is not the business of the local government,” Alsobrooks told workers at La Clinica del Pueblo in 2019. “I don’t care, you know, how long you’ve been here.”

As Prince George County executive, Alsobrooks implemented a policy where the county would only notify ICE of illegal immigrants in cases where they were arrested and charged with gang-related or violent criminal offenses, according to her campaign website. She also advocated to allow unlawful immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses during her tenure as state attorney in 2013.

“As County Executive Alsobrooks runs from her record on this issue, the facts are clear,” Larry Hogan, the GOP nominee for Senate, campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernan told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In her first year in office, she barred Prince George’s County from complying with ICE detainers, and the results have been devastating. Alsobrooks ignored the detainers of two noncitizen offenders who went on to murder a fourteen year old girl in Anne Arundel County after she let them go. Alsobrooks oversaw the release of sex offenders and MS-13 members who have gone on to commit violent crimes. In 2019, she said ‘we are not participating in immigration enforcement,’ and has lived up to that promise. When she says where she stands, voters should listen.”

Two teenage illegal aliens in Prince George County were arrested for attempted murder in 2018 and released in 2019, Fox Baltimore reported. Detainer requests from ICE were ignored by local officials, and both were charged in May 2019 with murder related to the death of a 14-year-old girl.

More recently, police arrested an illegal alien in the county on suspicion that he murdered a man using a machine gun, a local ABC affiliate reported. William Pavon Mancock, the accused killer, was not deported after being jailed for a drug charge in November 2023.

A September poll conducted by Gonzalez Research & Media Services, Inc. found that 84% of Marylanders believe local law enforcement should be required to cooperate with ICE when a detained migrant has a criminal history. The majority of Americans also support mass deportations, according to multiple polls.

One of many reasons I'll suck it up and vote for Hogan. 

Maryland, My Maryland

 Hat Hair cites Fox, Oops: Larry Hogan's Senate Opponent Has Some Delinquent Payment Issues

Fresh off headlines that the Democrats' Senate nominee in Maryland received an improper tax credit, new documents indicate that Angela Alsobrooks also was late in paying thousands of dollars in homeowners association fees.

According to documents obtained by Fox News, Alsobrooks failed to pay $8,121 in homeowners association fees on time in seven cases from 2008 through 2021.

The fees, known as HOA fees, are usually assessed monthly or quarterly by a homeowners' association to pay for the services it provides.

Alsobrooks, the chief executive of Prince George's County – Maryland's second-largest county – faces former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in a competitive race to succeed Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker.

Do you think she'll be as reluctant to spend taxpayers money as she is to part with her own?

Maryland, My Maryland

 CNN admits Angela Alsobrooks improperly claimed tax deductions on DC, Maryland properties

Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maryland, improperly took advantage of tax breaks she did not qualify for, including one meant for low-income senior citizens, saving thousands of dollars in taxes on two properties she owned in Washington, DC, and in Maryland.

A CNN review of property records and tax bills shows that for both properties, Alsobrooks claimed for more than a decade a homestead tax exemption that is meant to apply only to someone’s primary residence, violating state and local tax relief requirements.

She also improperly claimed a senior citizens’ tax break on her Washington property, cutting the tax bill in half. Alsobrooks, 53, never qualified for that tax break, but her grandparents, who owned the property before her, likely did.
 
A senior adviser for Alsobrooks told CNN that she was unaware of the problem and that her attorneys are working with both Washington and Prince George’s County, Maryland, to resolve the issue.

Alsobrooks saved nearly $14,000 in taxes between 2005 and 2017 on her northeast Washington property by using tax exemptions meant for the district’s primary residents, lower income residents and senior citizens, according to property tax bills reviewed by CNN.

But she did not live in Washington, according to public records. Since 1995, she has been registered to vote in Prince George’s County, where she’s been a longtime government official. She’s currently the county executive there, where she oversees the county’s budget and its tax collection division.

Connor Lounsbury, senior adviser to Alsobrooks, told CNN that after her grandmother moved out of the home in northeast Washington, Alsobrooks paid the mortgage on the property until it was sold in 2018. “She was unaware of any tax credits attached to that property and has reached out to the District of Columbia to resolve the issue and make any necessary payment,” Lounsbury said. 
 
In 2005, Alsobrooks bought a townhouse in Prince George’s County. State records show she applied for and received a homestead exemption in 2008 for the townhouse. It’s unclear when, but she eventually began renting out the property – while continuing to take the exemption meant for primary residents.

While county records for her property tax bill on the townhouse go back only as far as fiscal year 2020, it is estimated that the exemption would have saved her at least $2,600 since then.

In 2014, Alsobrooks bought another home in an “equestrian” community in Prince George’s County. She lists the property as her primary residence on her mortgage – but does not take a homestead exemption there, something her campaign points out has actually cost her money.

“When Angela bought her new property, the homestead tax credit from her previous home was not transferred,” Lounsbury said. “This resulted in no financial gain for Angela. In fact, she ended up paying more in taxes than she would have had the credit transferred over. Nevertheless, Angela is working to repay any credits received on the old property.”

It's reassuring that she's working with the tax people, now that she's been caught cheating on her state taxes. If we are to believe that all this tax avoidance was an accident, I think it's fair to question whether she is smart enough to be a Senator, though, to be sure, the bar is pretty low. 

Maryland, My Maryland

Leah Barkoukis at TownHall, Manchin Endorses Republican in Governor's Race

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) backed former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in his Senate bid, calling him “the right person” for the job.

Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May to become an independent, praised the Republican for not being afraid to push back on his party.

“Forget about being a Democrat or Republican,” said Manchin, reports DC News Now. “Larry Hogan is just the right person with the right attitude for the job. He’s not afraid to speak against your party and he won’t be controlled by any party or any type of ideology.”

The move will likely anger his former party as it’s seen as a snub against the Democratic nominee, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
. . .
According to a polling average from RealClear Polling, Alsobrooks is up 4.4 percentage points.

I'll take it without complaint. As I keep saying, Hogan is not the best Republican, but he is about the best Republican who has the possibility of being elected in Maryland. 

Maryland, My Maryland

Jude Russo at Am Con thinks Hogan Is Blowing the Maryland Senate Race. "A Republican can’t win by being Democrat Lite." Why not? It's worked for Hogan before. 

The forces of Maryland politics are conspiring to make a jackass out of your humble correspondent, which he doesn’t appreciate—he has that base covered all by himself.

First we argued that Rep. David Trone, a grotesquely wealthy arriviste with bog-standard liberal politics, had it sewn up for the Democratic nomination for senate against Angela Alsobrooks. Trone’s polls were sagging as the primary approached, but Alsobrooks’s highest title to date is executive of Prince George’s County (not a name synonymous with good government in the Old Line State). Even Spiro Agnew, erstwhile Baltimore County executive, spent some time in the Governor’s Mansion before leaping into national politics. Alsobrooks walked away with it, 53 percent to 42—Trone didn’t even cover the spread. So be it. Every gambler loses some, for better or worse. We wrote about it.

We then predicted that the solidly popular former governor, Larry Hogan, would be in good shape to capture the seat for the Republicans in the general election. Preliminary polling had shown him in a dead heat or edging out both Trone and Alsobrooks. Hogan was a recognizable character in American politics, the red governor of a blue state. You wouldn’t want him for president, but he was probably a cut better than your Parris Glendenningses and Martin O’Malleys. He had run a budget surplus while actually improving services like the Motor Vehicles Administration and beating cancer, which is (we are told) a big sympathy-winner. The right wing of Maryland Republicans regarded him as a bit of a squish, especially after some high-profile differences with President Donald Trump, but it didn’t seem insurmountable in a cycle that has seen the 45th president dance away from social issues and endorse whatever centrists are willing to smoke the peace pipe.

It is now a month and a half later. The latest polling shows Hogan’s support in the mid-30s, more than 10 points behind Alsobrooks. So far from fielding a competitive showing against a weak candidate, Hogan is wandering into the realm of pain where people use words like “blowout” and “landslide” and (our favorite, watch for this one here when he loses) “massacre.”

Alsobrooks is still a weak candidate; the same poll that showed Hogan 11 points behind pegged her support at an anemic 48 percent. (This is in a state where there are more than twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans.) So what happened?

A couple things. First, Hogan in mid-May vowed that he would be a pro-choice senator, coming out in favor of codifying Roe v. Wade at the federal level. The play here is obvious. The prevailing theory of Republican defeat in 2022 is that the Dobbs decision freaked out fiscally conservative (or at any rate, anti-tax) but socially liberal suburbanites. The first problem is that he had previously touted himself as a pro-life Catholic and as governor made marginal moves to restrict abortion access in the state. The Maryland Democrats have not forgotten. The second problem is that this disavows one of the GOP’s greatest victories at the federal level, and cuts against the party’s current states’ rights approach to the issue. Gratuitously, too—nobody is very worried that abortion is about to be banned in Maryland.

Then, worse, Hogan vocally repudiated Trump’s peace overtures, saying that he has “no interest” in an endorsement after the former president had said he would like to see Hogan win his race. The reasoning is analogous—the theory is that the Trump name is poison in the suburbs, so running away from it is the thing to do.

This is a penny-wise and pound-foolish approach. Trump is at the top of the party’s ticket, whether you like it or not; while the Maryland GOP relies on swinging suburbanites, the party’s rural bloc is all in on Trump. Your humble correspondent lives in the country. Outside the teeming college-town metropole of our county seat, the political (and physical) landscape is indistinguishable from the Pennsylvania exurbs that carried Trump to the presidency. These voters are the reason the GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2020 was a hardline lawyer involved in the former president’s election-fraud suits rather than Hogan’s anointed successor; they are a plurality of the state’s actual Republican base, such as it is. With a Trump endorsement, we suspect they would have held their noses to vote for Hogan (“the bald freak,” in local parlance). Without it—well, spite is a powerful thing. For the GOP to win statewide office, you need all those voters, as well as a share of the suburbs.

Hogan has tacked to the center and overshot. A voter may reasonably ask, If the Republican candidate is at war with the party leadership and has repudiated a huge part of the national party’s successes and current program, why not just vote for the Democrat?

I was dubious of Hogan's chances at winning a Senate seat in the first place. Why? Although Hogan was a pretty popular Governor from the other side, the Democrat party is firmly in control of Maryland politics. Even moderate Democrats are likely to remember him fondly while pulling the lever (our voting machines don't have levers) for Alsobrooks, just out of party loyalty, and because control of the Senate may well rest on that choice. MAGA Republicans need to look at the same calculation. A weak Republican in Hogan would be far better than the far-left Democrat Alsobrooks.  

It might also amuse fellow Marylander that our current governor, Wes Moore, is being touted by some as a potential replacement for Joe Biden. Ned Cosby at Am Think, After Biden -- Moore, or less? 

Some of us weary of DEI wonder if it means “Didn’t Earn It?” Others hiss and remind us that DEI means “Don’t Even Inquire!”

That's what's in mind now given the unanswered questions swirling around Wes Moore, the black Democrat governor of Maryland, who's being trotted out in the press right now to discuss the faltering of Joe Biden.

Moore certainly seems to be a Democrat opportunist in the mold of Rahm Emmanuel who said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” A bridge collapses in Maryland and he imagines himself being sworn in as POTUS.

That's an actual possibility now, given that Joe Biden has messed up his June 27 debate, and the names of potential replacements are being bruited about. Sure, he denies interest. But they all do at this point.

At the risk of being awarded the “Scarlet R,” amid this media buildup, I would like to ask, as a resident of Maryland, a few questions about Moore, who is sure to be given glowing press coverage:

Did Wes Moore earn a Bronze Star during his time in the Army? Does he, like Joe Biden, embellish and allow others to embellish his own history to advance his career? What kinds of petty crime did he commit before his mother sent him to military school? Is he the latest DEI messiah from the Democrat party, hoping to out-Obama Obama?


But for now, I would respond with caution. As the press is bound to be touting him for his dream job of POTUS, I remember that Barack Obama was also feted in the press, and became POTUS before he was thoroughly vetted.

I don't have a particular animus against Moore, I didn't vote for him, and I don't like my tax money constantly being spent of DEI grifts, but that was inevitable with any Democrat governor of Maryland, especially a black one. I just don't see him getting much attention outside of Maryland with which to make a shot at the presidency. Maryland is eminently overlookable. 

Maryland, My Maryland

Salena Zito at WaEx claims Republican Hogan enjoys big support among Maryland’s working-class voters

CUMBERLAND, Maryland — When former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan won the Republican primary race last month for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, many experts speculated that would be his high-water mark and everything would go downhill from there.

Case in point: When Angela Alsobrooks emerged as the winner of the Democratic primary, Politico reported that the Prince George’s County executive was on the precipice of making history as Maryland’s first black senator.

It was a theme that went across the media spectrum, dismissing Hogan’s chances despite the fact that a Hogan victory would be a little history-making as well because it’s been decades since a Republican has won a Senate seat in Maryland.

While there has been no fresh polling in the past month, there is no indication Hogan is astronomically or even slightly behind Alsobrooks in voters’ minds. Indeed, he may even be ahead.

When former President Donald Trump said a little over a week ago that he would like to see Hogan, a frequent critic of the former president’s comportment, win the race, those same experts went a bit apoplectic with stories that Trump’s endorsement would end the former governor’s chances in the deep blue state.

Again, there is no polling, so there is no indication of what, if any, impact there has been either way, yet the deconstruction of the Trump effect went on for days.

The more interesting story that does have the potential of materially affecting this race is the steady stream of union and labor support Hogan has been accumulating since the moment he won the primary, including the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333. There were even longshoremen in attendance at a Hogan event who had been in an ad supporting Alsobrooks’ Democratic primary opponent, Rep. David Trone (D-MD). This support for Hogan from otherwise Democratic union members could be significant.

I think this is generally true. Hogan had built a pretty strong constituency among blue collar voters in Maryland before term limits forced him out of office. I believe this will largely carry forward, and given Trump's popularity with independents I don't think Trump's endorsement will hurt him. He's doing a lot of advertising on the border issue, and I think this will play well in this community, too.

As I have said, over and over, I support Hogan not because he is the best possible Republican in Maryland, but because he his the Republican that might win in Maryland.

Maryland, My Maryland

Buck Throckmorton at Ace's THE MORNING RANT: #NeverHogan - Would Republicans Support Liz Cheney as a “GOP” Senator from Maryland?. Sorry I stole the whole thing, but it's worth it.

In the election for US Senator from Maryland this November, I do not want the Republican candidate to win. A Democrat senator from Maryland will do far less harm to the Trump agenda than Larry Hogan will do if he is elected as a Republican.

I am well aware of the Buckley rule (which effectively states that conservatives should support the rightwardmost viable candidate in a given race) and I still generally support that concept. I would gladly vote for Susan Collins if I lived in Maine. But the Buckley Rule gets thrown out the window if the “rightwardmost candidate” is running on a platform of sabotaging the presidency of a Republican with a conservative agenda.

Would any among us vote for Liz Cheney if she were the Republican senate candidate in Maryland? If you wouldn’t vote for Cheney, why would you vote for Larry Hogan? He is campaigning to be the Liz Cheney of Trump’s 2nd term.

Why is Maryland Governor Larry Hogan even running for the US Senate? He makes it very clear that his motivation to trade the Governor’s Mansion for the Senate is due to his hostility toward Donald Trump, and to stop Donald Trump’s agenda.

Hogan actually stated that the precipitating event that made him decide to run is Trump’s opposition to Biden’s border agenda as laid out in Biden’s border bill this past spring. (The bill was defeated by senate Republicans, who denied it the 60 votes it needed.)

“Hogan: Trump push against bipartisan border bill made me ‘angry enough’ to run for Senate” [The Hill 3/04/2024]

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) says former President Trump’s efforts to help to tank the Senate’s bipartisan border bill is the reason he decided to enter his state’s Senate race. “It’s why I decided to run for the Senate, actually,” Hogan said Monday.

An actual conservative governor, Ron DeSantis, had this to say about Biden’s border bill that Larry Hogan so passionately supported:

During a news conference in Miami Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the Senate Bill a “farce” and a “dog and pony show” that will just exacerbate the border crisis. “People are starting to point out what a farce it is to basically say that you only shut the border down once 5,000 people a day come in illegally, which is about two million a year,” DeSantis said. “That’s basically legalizing illegal immigration.”

That is correct. Biden’s border bill would have enshrined in law the authorization for 1,825,000 million illegal aliens per year to enter and remain in the US. That is 1,825,000 more than are currently allowed under the laws that Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas are flagrantly ignoring. And Larry Hogan is so passionate about allowing 1.8 million illegal immigrants into the US each year that he wants to go to battle with Donald Trump to protect Biden’s open border when Trump is elected.

Beyond the border, Hogan has such an advanced case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that he can’t even condemn the political show trial against Donald Trump, an assault on our legal system that was so egregious that even most hardcore NeverTump conservatives objected to it. In fact, Hogan urges us all to “respect” the verdict, and to respect the legal process that is going to imprison Trump for his undefinable, victimless “crimes.” If that’s not enough, Hogan also states that we are engaging in “toxic partisanship” if we oppose the Biden administration and its allies for seeking to imprison Biden’s political adversaries.

What about judicial nominations? Hogan will almost certainly be siding with the Democrats in trying to defeat Trump’s nominees. Back in autumn of 2020, when Trump suddenly had the opportunity to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, Governor Hogan refused to join 24 other Republican governors in a letter of support for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

"I don't think we should play partisan games with the Supreme Court," Hogan said on September 23. "I think it would be a mistake for the Senate to ram through a nominee before the election on a partisan line vote…”

Hogan could not make it any clearer that he wants to go to the Senate to battle Republicans and to sabotage any conservative victories…

“Hogan says Republicans can’t count on his vote in Senate” [The Hill 5/28/2024]

“I want to say this upfront: In the Senate, Republicans can’t count on my vote,” said Hogan, the former governor of the Old Line State.

It is human nature to cheer for “our team,” be it sports, politics, or war, thus we rally around individuals wearing our team’s uniform, and it’s especially exciting to try to pull off an upset, such as winning a Senate seat from a deep-blue state like Maryland.

But if an adversary is wearing our uniform and attacking us from within our own trenches, he is far more dangerous than the guy in the far trench wearing the other side’s uniform.

It is highly probable that Republicans are going to pick up a few Senate seats in the 2024 elections and gain control of that chamber of Congress. With 60 votes needed to pass legislation, it hardly matters whether the GOP ends up with 52, 53, or 54 Senate seats. It will have a small, weak majority, with or without Hogan. The main task for the Senate in 2024 and 2025 will be approving Trump’s various nominations, especially his judicial appointments. It is already expected that Hogan will be siding with the Democrats in opposing Trump’s nominations.

But here are the most critical reasons why it is imperative that Hogan not be elected as a Republican to the Senate:

1) Committee Appointments: The Senate rules result in each committee having one more member from the majority party than from the minority party. Even if the Republicans have a senate majority, any committee that Hogan is on will have become a de facto Democrat-controlled committee, and committees have the ability to stop full-Senate votes on important agenda items. What this means is that a Senate with 53 Republicans including Hogan will have several Democrat-controlled committees, whereas a Senate with only 52 Republicans, and excluding Hogan, will not have any Hoganized committees in which control has shifted to Democrats.

2) Bipartisanship: When Larry Hogan sides with Democrats to sabotage Trump’s agenda, he will bless the Democrats’ efforts with the glow of “bipartisanship.”

3) Hearings & Impeachment: Larry Hogan will be the prominent Republican voice in support of bipartisan hearings regarding the “scandals” that will be created to take Trump out. The Democrats stand a good chance at taking the Senate back in 2026. Donald Trump’s next impeachment in 2027 will be Larry Hogan’s shining moment.

If you wouldn’t vote for Adam Kinzinger or Liz Cheney for Senate from Maryland, then please think carefully about supporting Larry Hogan.

It's a very emotional and persuasive argument, but I'm still not buying it. If we elect Angela Alsobrooks, we'll get everything Buck fears in Hogan, and have absolutely no chances for support of anything conservative.

Maryland, My Maryland

The Unsinkable Mollie Hemingway at Da Fed explains How Larry Hogan Can Recover From His Show Trial Campaign Flub

Larry Hogan does not have the easiest path to serving in the U.S. Senate. He shouldn’t make it any harder than necessary.

That’s unfortunately what the former Maryland governor did when he made an unforced error last week, saying Americans should “respect” the results of the unprecedented Democrat show trial in New York targeting the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
. . .
Maryland is overwhelmingly Democrat. Hogan won the Republican primary last month despite his liberal views at odds with many Maryland Republicans. If he is to have a shot at winning, he has to keep the support of those Republicans, only about a third of the state, and gain enough support from independents and some Democrats to put him over the top against Democrat opponent Angela Alsobrooks.

To that end, he’s been broadcasting his independence. “I want to say this up front: In the Senate, Republicans can’t count on my vote,” Hogan said in a 30-second TV ad he released last week. He added that neither could Democrats. He said he’d make his decisions based on what’s best for the state.

Hogan has never made any secret of his hatred for Trump. It’s Hogan’s outspoken opposition to the Republican leader that has garnered him so much airtime on corporate media. He in no way needs to set that aside to do the right thing in terms of principled opposition to lawfare and coalition-building political savvy.

The Republican Party tent is big enough to include people even with Hogan’s anti-Trumpist views. It is almost certainly not big enough, however, to include people who support show trials. Every single person who might be willing to vote for Hogan knows Trump’s conviction by the New York City prosecutor, judge, and jury is completely political.

Every single person who might be part of the Hogan coalition also understands that rule of law and equal justice under the law are absolute bedrocks and foundational tenets of American culture. Hogan will lose if he tells voters he tolerates unequal justice under the law. Hogan should not play games or be cute on this issue.

Honestly, I don't know how his position on the Trump trial will play out in Maryland. My own region, the southern suburbs are generally weakly Republican, and likely pro-Hogan. His battle will be in the Baltimore Washington corridor, which is deep indigo. Do enough of them care about due process for Donald Trump? I'm not certain. 

Maryland, My Maryland

Balmer Sun,  I’m torn’: Hogan-Trump split is putting some Maryland GOP voters on the spot

Larry Hogan and Donald Trump will appear in November for the first time together on Maryland’s ballot, but they won’t necessarily share equal space in the hearts of Republicans in counties like Dorchester, which voted by double digits for Trump in the last two presidential elections.

“This is Trump Country,” said Ted Bryant, 67, who builds and sells small aircraft in the water-oriented Eastern Shore county and is a member of its Republican central committee.

Bryant, 67, is hoping his county is large enough — in the big-tent sense — to not only back Trump for president again, but to also support the U.S. Senate candidacy of Hogan, the Republican former two-term governor who has crusaded against Trump’s hold on the party. It’s a hope shared by many GOP leaders on the Shore and other conservative bastions in Maryland.

Since Democrats enjoy a more than 2-1 voter registration advantage in the state, Hogan must capture a significant number of Democrats and unaffiliated voters to win. But he must do so without sacrificing large chunks of his party’s base in regions like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland, where the GOP holds sway.

I'm not torn at all. While no politician is perfect, Hogan is the most Republican candidate that could be elected in Maryland. While not perfect, Trump is far, far better than the alternative, FJB.  

Maryland, My Maryland

A Double! First, From Da Caller, Democrats May Have Just Shot Themselves In The Foot — In Must-Win State

Polling for Maryland’s Senate race largely suggests Larry Hogan, the widely-popular former Republican governor, fares better in a general election against the Democrat who voters chose to be their nominee Tuesday.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated Rep. David Trone by over ten points among a crowded field of Democratic primary hopefuls on Tuesday, after the congressman invested over $61 million of his own money into the race. Some Maryland political operatives who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation argued that Trone’s loss puts Democrats at a financial disadvantage in the Hogan-Alsobrooks matchup in November.

“It poses a challenge for the Democrat Party nationally, because, you know, David Trone being the self-funder — as precarious as it is with West Virginia, you know, poised to flip — they have to hold serve, and, you know, in a state that heretofore was a given,” Paul Ellington, Republican strategist based in Maryland and former state GOP executive director, told the DCNF. “I think the Democrat Party, although they wouldn’t say at the national level, was hoping that the results would have been a little bit different.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is hoping to keep its slim majority by defending vulnerable Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, as well as open seats in Michigan and Arizona. The seat currently held by Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is almost certain to flip red with Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s Tuesday nomination, as the senator announced his retirement in November 2023.

Len Foxwell, a Democratic strategist based in Maryland, echoed Ellington’s sentiment, and told the DCNF that Trone, the owner of Total Wine, would’ve been able to “bankroll his own general election operation.”  

“While Alsobrooks will obviously have all the money she needs to match Larry Hogan dollar-for-dollar and then some, because control of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance, [sic] that will come at a cost of money that otherwise could have gone to embattled Democrats in purple or red-leaning states,” Foxwell told the DCNF. “To that extent, it makes the national party’s job a little more difficult.”

As I've noted before, I'll support Hogan, not because he's a perfect Republican, but because he's a Republican who might be able to win in Maryland. 

Hank Berrien at Da Wire, Federal Court Rules Maryland Parents Can’t Opt Kids Out Of Classes With LGBT Content

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 against Maryland parents who sued their local school board for not letting their children in grades K-5 opt out of reading books supporting transgender ideology and gender transitioning.

The Montgomery County Public Schools board denied the parents their request to be notified when the books would be read to their children and the opportunity to opt out.

“The Board is violating the parents’ inalienable and constitutionally protected right to control the religious upbringing of their children, especially on sensitive issues concerning family life and human sexuality,”

. . .
A district court ruled against the parents, prompting them to appeal to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied the parents’ request for a preliminary injunction but allowed the possibility of changing its position once the classes have already been taught, writing:

We take no view on whether the Parents will be able to present evidence sufficient to support any of their various theories once they have the opportunity to develop a record as to the circumstances surrounding the Board’s decision and how the challenged texts are actually being used in schools. At this early stage, however, given the Parents’ broad claims, the very high burden required to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the scant record before us, we are constrained to affirm the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction.

Judge Marvin Quattlebaum dissented, writing, “I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the parents have not produced enough evidence to establish that their free exercised rights have been burdened. The parents have met their burden. They have produced the books that no one disputes will be used to instruct their K-5 children. They produced declarations explaining in detail why the books conflict with their religious beliefs. They have produced the board’s own internal documents that show how it suggests teachers respond to students and parents who question the contents of the books.”

Maryland, My Maryland

Da Balmer Sun, Alsobrooks defeats Trone in Senate primary, will face Hogan in November. Proving that while money might be able to buy happiness, it can't always buy elections. I'll be grateful to see the end of the Trone ads on TV. 

I will support Hogan. As I've noted in the past, while Hogan may not be much of a Republican, he's about as Republican as a politician can be and win statewide in Maryland. I will not let the perfect become the enemy of good.

Maryland, My Maryland

 ET, Maryland House, Senate Races Could Determine Control of Congress  

Two key contests in Maryland could help determine control of Congress come January: the races for the Senate and the Sixth Congressional District. 
. . .
Until February, the race to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) appeared to be safe for Democrats until Mr. Hogan, who was popular as governor between 2015 and 2023, joined the contest.

Maryland hasn’t had a Republican in the Senate for nearly 40 years. The unexpectedly competitive race for Mr. Cardin’s seat may well decide who controls the Senate, as Republicans look to flip the chamber by targeting vulnerable Democrats in a handful of states.

Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District

Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District could be key in determining who controls the House of Representatives come next January as the Democrats look to keep the seat.

The major Democrat candidates looking to succeed Mr. Trone, who has been representing the district since January 2019, are Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel and April McClain-Delaney, the wife of former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020. Ms. McClain-Delaney last worked in the Biden administration.

The district encompasses five suburban counties including Montgomery County, which borders the nation’s capital. It is Maryland’s only swing district, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report having it lean Democrat by 6 percentage points based on the average margins of how the district voted in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

A miracle could happen, but I hate to think the fate of the union depends on Maryland.

Maryland, My Maryland

Hey, you weren't supposed to read those! At the Free Bacon WATCH: David Trone Goes Nuclear on Reporter for Quoting His Own Tweets

Rep. David Trone put his finger in the face of a local reporter on Tuesday and accused him of being a Republican "shill" for covering the Maryland Democrat’s claims that the criminal justice system was "racist."

Trone, the Democratic frontrunner for Maryland’s open Senate seat, took to X on Sunday to tell constituents to "face a hard truth" that the "criminal justice system is systemically racist." At a campaign event on Tuesday, Trone told Fox 5 journalist Tom Fitzgerald he should be "ashamed" for reporting on the posts. "You should be ashamed of the journalism you did yesterday," Trone said as he pointed his finger in Fitzgerald’s direction, footage of the exchange shows. "You took one line out of 20 and you should be ashamed of that type of journalism."

During the exchange, Trone’s aide tapped the congressman on the back, apparently prompting Trone to take a step back from the reporter. "And shame on Fox," Trone continued. "Fox needs to step up and do real journalism, and you didn’t do it there. You were shilling for Larry Hogan. So keep shilling for Larry Hogan. And if you want to do that, feel free to shill."

Trone said his posts to X on Sunday were "very supportive of our police" and said Fitzgerald was "just making it up" before abruptly ending the interview. Trone’s comments garnered criticism from his Democratic primary opponent Angela Alsobrooks, who said Marylanders deserve the right to police protection and that Trone has no experience in criminal justice matters.

The likely Republican nominee in Maryland’s Senate race, former Gov. Larry Hogan, said Trone’s social media posts "were terrible."

If you don't want someone to quote it, don't write it. 

Maryland, My Maryland

David DTrone

From the Free Bacon, news that David DTrone Has Poured a Record-Breaking $42 Million Into His Senate Campaign

Rep. David Trone (D., Md.) made history Tuesday, becoming the largest self-funder in Senate primary history.

Trone, the co-owner of the multibillion-dollar liquor chain Total Wine & More, has loaned $41.7 million to his campaign for Maryland’s open Senate seat since launching his run in March 2023, Federal Election Commission filings show. The Maryland Democrat’s personal investment into his campaign far exceeds all prior Senate primary candidates, including the previous record holder, Illinois Democrat Blair Hull, who spent $29.6 million on his failed 2004 Senate primary bid.

Though Trone can depend on the seemingly unending funds from his Total Wine wealth to fuel his Senate campaign, his failure to attract contributors from traditional sources exposes underlying cracks in his ability to engage with the Democratic base. He has raised just $640,000 from contributors other than himself, a figure that includes a paltry $105,000 from grassroots, small-dollar donors.

Meanwhile, Trone’s top primary challenger, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, has raked in $6.2 million from outside contributors. A Baltimore Sun poll Tuesday shows Trone leading the field with 48 percent support among Democratic primary voters, while Alsobrooks trails behind with 29 percent support. Maryland’s primary election will be held May 14.

The same poll shows former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the expected Republican nominee for the state’s open Senate seat, beating both Trone and Alsobrooks in the general election. Maryland last elected a Republican senator in 1980.

His TV ads are becoming omnipresent in recent days. It's a good thing he's paying his own bills, for the most part, because the ads aren't very convincing, at least to me. But then, I'm not really his target constituency.