{"id":2346090,"date":"2024-09-26T05:15:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T09:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cruz-and-graham-emerge-as-gop-boogeymen-in-maryland-senate-fight-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-26T05:15:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T09:15:58","slug":"cruz-and-graham-emerge-as-gop-boogeymen-in-maryland-senate-fight-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cruz-and-graham-emerge-as-gop-boogeymen-in-maryland-senate-fight-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruz and Graham emerge as GOP boogeymen in Maryland Senate fight &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcruz-and-graham-emerge-as-gop-boogeymen-in-maryland-senate-fight-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2346090&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Maryland Senate race is increasingly focusing on the implications of a potential GOP \u200dvictory, particularly involving the influence of prominent Republicans\u200d Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, despite neither running in the state. Democrats are framing the election as a\u200b decision between their candidate, Angela Alsobrooks, and Larry\u2064 Hogan, the GOP nominee and \u200bformer centrist governor of Maryland. They argue that voting for Hogan would empower polarizing Republican leaders \u2062like Cruz and Graham. \u200dHogan&#8217;s entry into the \u2063race has\u2063 made it more competitive\u2063 for Democrats, who are concerned about the risks of a popular \u2062Republican\u2063 candidate. Prominent Democrats, including Senators Chris Van\u2062 Hollen and Cheryl Kagan, \u2063have publicly accused Hogan of enabling extreme GOP policies aligned with figures like Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. As the election approaches, Alsobrooks has intensified her rhetoric, labeling Hogan a &#8220;phony Never Trumper&#8221; and warning that\u2062 electing\u2062 him would jeopardize Democratic control. Despite this, Hogan remains \u200da formidable opponent, and his candidacy has the potential to shift the political landscape in Maryland.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The GOP boogeymen of Maryland&rsquo;s Senate battle: Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1760153\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The Maryland Senate race is shaping up to be a lot about Republicans who aren&rsquo;t named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3161513\/democrats-rebrand-larry-hogan-maryland-senate-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Larry Hogan\">Larry Hogan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The pitch from Democrats in the deep-blue state centers on the notion that a vote for GOP nominee Hogan, the former two<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alsobrooks-knocks-lifelong-republican-larry-hogan-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Alsobrooks knocks &#039;lifelong Republican&#039; Larry Hogan - Washington Examiner\">-term centrist governor<\/a>, is a vote to empower other Republicans like Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3148032\/ted-cruz-democrats-know-harris-pretending-reverse-course-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ted Cruz\">Ted Cruz<\/a> (R-TX) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Lindsey Graham\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC) with the majority.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The last I checked, neither Lindsey nor I are running in Maryland,&rdquo; Cruz told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It sounds like Maryland Democrats are really scared of Larry Hogan, so they&rsquo;re trying to find someone else to attack instead.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Graham said he &ldquo;thought there would be better targets than me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hogan&rsquo;s eleventh-hour entry into the race earlier this year to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-may-ease-ccp-virus-lockdown-from-march-foreign-secretary-says\/\" title=\"UK May Ease CCP Virus Lockdown From March, Foreign Secretary Says\">worst-case scenario<\/a> for Democrats, turning what would otherwise be a shoo-in for the party into a competitive contest against a popular statewide Republican. Hogan&rsquo;s Democratic opponent is Prince George&rsquo;s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who recruited Hogan to run, is a natural punching bag in battleground Senate races across the country, including Maryland. But up against an anti-Trump Republican like Hogan, who&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3143924\/larry-hogan-gop-culture-fear-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"distanced himself\">distanced himself<\/a> from the national party, Maryland Democrats and Alsobrooks surrogates have consistently name-dropped more polarizing GOP figures to motivate the base.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Regardless of his opinions from the back row, Hogan would put extremist Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham in charge of the U.S. Senate,&rdquo; Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat, said in a recent statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Very simple political math,&rdquo; Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backs-republican-covid-19-package-after-mcconnell-rejects-bipartisan-proposal\/\" title=\"Trump backs Republican COVID-19 package after McConnell rejects bipartisan proposal\">told reporters<\/a> last week, &ldquo;tells you that a vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to put Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz and the &lsquo;MAGA&rsquo; Republicans in charge of the United States Senate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a leading proponent of overturning the 2020 election results, has at times also been lobbed into the mix.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The people of Maryland are going to be electing a U.S. senator who&rsquo;s either going to be voting to put the Democrats in control of the agenda, or they can be voting to put Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley,&rdquo; Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-hostile-regimes-testing-joe-biden-during-his-first-months-in-office\/\" title=\"4 Hostile Regimes Testing Joe Biden During His First Months In Office\">recently told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hawley told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> he was &ldquo;very flattered they would think of me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), left, joined by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other Senate Republicans, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alsobrooks, for her part, has largely stuck to equating Hogan with McConnell and former President Donald Trump. As part of a more recent shift in strategy, her surrogates have painted Hogan as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3161513\/democrats-rebrand-larry-hogan-maryland-senate-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"phony Never Trumper\">phony &ldquo;Never Trumper<\/a>.&rdquo; Alsobrooks is favored to win, but while an upset by Hogan would ensure the chamber flips red, it&rsquo;d also likely mean the GOP swept several other battleground races leaning more in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Larry Hogan hopes you all believe that he&rsquo;s running for governor again,&rdquo; Alsobrooks told supporters at a campaign stop last month. &ldquo;We shouldn&rsquo;t let him anywhere near the Senate to give the majority to a party that is led by Donald Trump, and there&rsquo;s no way for him to distance himself from those people because Mitch McConnell is the person who selected him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Cruz, Graham, and other prominent Republicans are plastered throughout the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.republicanlarryhogan.com\/republicans-extreme-agenda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hogan opposition website<\/a> launched by the Maryland Democratic Party. It warns that Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Cruz, the top Republican on Senate Commerce, could become the chairmen of the respective panels if Hogan is elected.<\/p>\n<p>Graham chalked up the campaign rhetoric invoking him as &ldquo;just politics,&rdquo; potentially connected to his vehement defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during the contentious confirmation process in 2018 that was temporarily upended by decades-old sexual assault allegations against the judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Graham offered a minor correction to Democrats and quipped that his experiences in Maryland have been pleasant.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Number one, I wouldn&rsquo;t be chairman of Judiciary. I&rsquo;d be chairman of Budget,&rdquo; Graham said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been to Maryland a bunch. Nobody&rsquo;s come up and hit me or anything. Seems like a really nice place.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1760153\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1760153\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Maryland Senate race highlights Republicans like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, not just Larry Hogan. Democrats argue that voting for Hogan empowers these GOP figures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2346091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/lindsey-graham.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4105,6203,3803,39430,36160],"class_list":["post-2346090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cruz","tag-gop","tag-graham","tag-maryland-senate","tag-political-controversy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/lindsey-graham.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2346090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2346091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}