From Axios:
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), running for Senate in the state, would not commit Thursday to voting for federal IVF protections.
Why it matters: Republicans have largely argued IVF protections must happen at the state level after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that restricted access to fertility treatments.
What he's saying: Hogan dodged on whether he would vote to codify IVF protections.
- Hogan told Axios' Sophia Cai on Thursday that the Alabama Supreme Court's decision was "outrageous" but wouldn't say how he would vote on a bill.
- "I don't want to speculate on what the legislation might look like," Hogan said.
- Hogan also maintained that he would not vote for a federal abortion ban.
Also:
In recent weeks, Hogan has made clear that he opposes a federal abortion ban, but on Thursday he declined to say whether he would support legislation aimed at codifying Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that granted the national right to abortion until the court overturned it in 2022.
"We’re going to have to take a look at that as we move forward," Hogan said about codifying Roe, adding that he'd have to consider "whether it’s needed or not."
"It wasn’t a yes or no [answer]," he said when pressed about whether he'd vote to codify Roe.
The answers illustrate the uncertain state and federal legislative landscape on reproductive health issues since the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision.
And he will have to answer for this soon:
“Look, I’m like 70 percent of the rest of the people in America who do not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump to be president, and I’m hoping that there potentially is another alternative,” said Hogan, who recently launched his own bid for U.S. Senate in Maryland.
He added that “I don’t know yet” who that candidate will be.
Hogan, a frequent Trump critic, backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s bid for president, but she announced Wednesday that she was ending her campaign.
As former chair of No Labels, the centrist political group focused on launching a third-party run, Hogan was seen as a possibility to lead the group’s ticket. No Labels has been trying to secure ballot access in states ahead of the 2024 election but has not said which candidates would be leading the split-party ticket.
And there’s this:
Luis Borunda, a deputy state secretary under former Gov. Larry Hogan, was federally indicted last month on child pornography charges, complicating and elevating a sexual solicitation case brought against him last year in Anne Arundel County.
Borunda, 65, was arrested Aug. 30 following a sting operation in which Fort Meade criminal investigators posed as a teenage girl skipping school to meet him, according to charging documents. Before federal attorneys became involved, he was scheduled for trial in that case Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
The new nine-page indictment submitted to the U.S. District Court of Maryland includes the August incident, while also accusing the longtime political figure of producing and distributing child pornography to interstate and international markets.
Borunda has been charged with the sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor, two counts of distributing child pornography as well as the possession of child pornography. Additionally, if convicted, he would be ordered to forfeit any involved property, including a cellphone, two computers and three flash drives, to law enforcement.
And Democrats aren’t letting Hogan off the hook. Here’s Prince George’s County Executive and U.S. Senate candidate, Angela Alsobrooks (D. MD):
The Democratic candidate told theGrio that she believes Hogan, who remains popular among Marylanders according to polling, will fail to get the momentum he needs in the general because Maryland voters “will understand that he is anti-choice, he does not support voting rights, and his party has been aligned with the NRA.”
Alsobrooks said Hogan’s run for office has “little to do with him” and “more to do with the larger Republican Party’s agenda … to elect a Republican and change the balance of power in the Senate.”
“That party is hook, line, and sinker connected to Trump right now in a way that is so dangerous and can never be trusted,” she argued.
And U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. David Trone (D. MD):
The Maryland Primary is May 14th and is a closed primary. Click here to register to vote or check your voter registration.
Click below to donate and get involved with the Democratic candidate of your choice:
Angela Alsobrooks
David Trone
