The Maryland Senate race is shaping up to be a lot about Republicans who aren’t named Larry Hogan .
The pitch from Democrats in the deep-blue state centers on the notion that a vote for GOP nominee Hogan, the former two-term centrist governor, is a vote to empower other Republicans such as Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with the majority.
“The last I checked, neither Lindsey nor I are running in Maryland,” Cruz told the Washington Examiner. “It sounds like Maryland Democrats are really scared of Larry Hogan, so they’re trying to find someone else to attack instead.”
Graham said he “thought there would be better targets than me.”
Hogan’s eleventh-hour entry into the race earlier this year to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) was a worst-case scenario for Democrats, turning what would otherwise be a shoo-in for the party into a competitive contest against a popular statewide Republican. Hogan’s Democratic opponent is Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.