Then-Gov. Larry Hogan (left) and Gov.-elect Wes Moore in happier times, two days after Election Day in 2022. Moore this week targeted Hogan’s bid for U.S. Senate in a new ad. File photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
A political action committee connected to Gov. Wes Moore (D) has begun airing its first ad targeting former Gov. Larry Hogan’s bid for U.S. Senate.
Like most attacks on Hogan (R) since he entered the Senate race, the 30-second digital ad from the Unity First PAC, which is now live, focuses on abortion. Hogan, who has scrambled to ease fears that he will be an anti-abortion vote on Capitol Hill, began airing two ads of his own on abortion and women’s rights on Thursday.
“When Maryland’s legislature passed a bill to expand abortion access, Larry Hogan vetoed it,” a narrator begins in the Unity First ad. “And he blocked funding for Planned Parenthood, too. All because he opposes abortion.”
The ad then features a soundbite of Hogan saying, “You know, I happen to be personally opposed to abortion.”
The narrator continues that Hogan was “recruited by extreme Republicans to run for the Senate” and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Hogan, the ad concludes, “could be the deciding vote to ban abortion nationwide. That’s a risk Maryland can’t take.” Separate photos of Trump with three Supreme Court justices appear on the screen as the ad ends.
Analysis: Hogan tries to define his brand of Republicanism
Christine Freudlich, a consultant with Unity First PAC, said the political committee is making a six-figure buy to put the ad on digital platforms that reach younger voters. Freudlich said the PAC plans to air other ads on TV and cable this fall and will also invest in youth engagement efforts.
Unity First PAC was launched earlier this year by Moore and his political associates, and its primary goal is to keep his predecessor from reaching the Senate. Ned Miller, Moore’s campaign manager in 2022, is overseeing the PAC.
Hogan is in a tight race with Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), and Democrats are convinced that abortion is the issue that will lead to Hogan’s defeat. For most of his political career Hogan has said that he’s personally opposed to abortion but wouldn’t take steps to overturn abortion protections. During this campaign he has promised to oppose efforts to impose nationwide abortion bans and said he would support measures to restore Roe v. Wade.
Hogan seeks to reinforce that message in two new TV ads that feature his daughters and granddaughters. It’s the same playbook he used on the abortion issue when he first ran for governor in 2014.
The Hogan ads were first reported by The Hill newspaper.
One ad has two of his daughters, Jaymi Sterling and Julie Kim, addressing the camera, just as Sterling did during the 2014 campaign.
“When Larry Hogan married my mom, he became a father to three strong, independent women, and he gained our trust,” said Sterling, who was elected St. Mary’s County state’s attorney in 2022. “Now, once again, they’re attacking him as anti-women.”
Kim then says Hogan wants to restore abortion rights that were eroded by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision. The ad is infused with footage of Hogan with his wife, daughters and granddaughters.
The other ad contains some of the same footage and also features Sterling, who touts Hogan’s record as governor supporting expanded access for contraception in Maryland and equal pay measures.