In Depth: Will popularity be enough for ex-Gov. Hogan to flip Maryland red in Senate race?

[Music] could be the pivotal state election day is just two months away one of the most closely watched races is that for Maryland senate seat Democrats looking to keep control of the Senate through Prince George's County Executive Angela also Brooks I think that everyone understands the stakes of this election a new polling shows former Republican Governor Larry Hogan is not far behind I'm going to go out there and continue to talk about the issues that people care about I'm taking a closer look at the polling the stakes and what issues matter most to Maryland we're going in depth on the US Senate race thank you for joining us for this week's edition of Fox 45 News in depth I'm Mackenzie Frost today we're going in depth on Maryland's hotly contested US Senate race is Democratic candidate Angela alsbrooks and Republican candidate Larry Hogan entered the final stretch of their months-long campaigns both parties see maryn's open senate seat as a crucial with control of the US Senate on the line and the election less than 70 days away right now a handful of States could determine who holds the Senate majority Republicans are expected to flip West Virginia now that Senator Joe Mansion is retiring leaving according to the Cook political report three races as a toss up the open seat in Michigan Montana where Democrat John tesser is fighting to defend his seat Democratic senator shered Brown is trying to keep his seat with West Virginia expected to turn red read Democrats need to maintain their current seats to keep control and win the White House but then there's Maryland Maryland who would have thought it could be the pivotal State Larry Hogan turning a solidly blue State into a competition while Donald Trump is deeply unpopular in Maryland Hogan is popular teeing up a potentially tight race with Angela also Brooks in April poster Steve Robbie predicted I think it's without a doubt that National Dem rats will attempt to nationalize the race which is what we're seeing unfold now there could also be other seats to watch to that could factor into the majority win Wisconsin Pennsylvania Arizona Nevada and even Texas could be in play for Democrats leaving the majority map incredibly uncertain with such high stakes this year's Senate race is on track to be one of the most expensive in State history the Hogan and also Brooks campaigns have raised nearly 19 .5 million combined as of June 30th more than half of that total for both campaigns was raised in the last quarter according to the latest quarterly campaign Finance reports Angela alsbrooks has raised nearly $12.5 million between May of last year and June of this year nearly 10 million of that is from Individual contributions Hogan's most recent filing also shows just over $7 million raised from January through June of this year with only half of that coming from Individual contributions Hogan's campaign has spent nearly $4.5 million from January to June with about 2.1 million of that on ads he has a little more than $2.5 million in the bank also Brooks's campaign has spent nearly $9 million from May of last year to June of this year 4.1 million of that on ads but the vast majority of her ad spending was before the primary she still has $3.5 million as cash in hand the next quarterly filing is due next month so we'll get a another look at what's in the campaign covers before election day political analyst John deei says he expects also Brooks to use some of her new funding to catch up on ads for the general election especially on TV she hasn't been on TV much since the primary in part because she had to bankrupt herself to win the primary and she's probably spent the last three months working on raising some money so she's gonna have to get on TV a lot more the latest gon Gonzalez poll shows Angela also Brooks taking a slight lead over Larry Hogan if the election were held today 46% say they would vote for alsbrooks 41% for Hogan and 11% of vot Voters across the state say they're undecided among their own party 72% of Democrats say they'd vote for aler Brooks 21% for Hogan 82% of Republicans say they'd vote for Hogan compared to 5% for also Brooks Hogan is also up 10 points among Independents pollster Patrick Gonzalez says this election will come down to Simple Math if a republican gets 90% of Republicans 55% of Independents to get to 50% plus one that Republican needs 30% of Democrats very simple basic math all right joining us now is the dean of the College of public affairs at the University of Baltimore Dr heartley thank you so much for joining us we have a lot to get to so let's Dive Right In I want to talk about some of that ad spending and the the dollars that we're seeing come into this race we know that Larry Hogan is out with a new ad talking about being a father of daughters and of Grandfather of granddaughters as well talking about the women's rights issues and the specifically abortion how do you think that plays into this race and do you think that that signals that the Hogan campaign sees the abortion issue is a potential vulnerability um it it's one of the biggest issues in this campaign and also in campaigns nationally right now too and there's certainly evidence that shows that women are really fired up to vote on that issue and men as well so he needs to stay in the middle neutral and not very ideologically to the right on that issue or as the Gonzalez poll indicates he's going to lose Democrats and he's going to lose Independence and that he has to get a lot of Independence and a lot of Democrats to win this race in Maryland if you're Angela aler Brooks right now you're looking at the campaign Finance records the potential for more ads to be uh purchased do you think that she would use some of her own money to get up on the ads or potentially let other groups do the campaigning for her well I think both uh campaigns are going to use other groups uh to run ads for them this is a nationally watched race it's in uh the top 10 in so many different uh watch lists for most important Senate race so there's going to be a lot of national money coming in they're going to be able to count on others running attack ads and not them um what Angela also Brooks had did in the primary that was so effective though is she raised name recognition really fast and late and saved money and really came on strong against David Tron and she has the money to do that now in the last months of the election she still has to introduce herself to some voters around the state too where Larry Hogan does not yeah that was something that we saw from the gonzale poll as well even among Democrats her name ID is still relatively low there's still a lot more room for growth for her with less than three months to go until election day now what does she need to do to introduce herself to people if they don't already know who she is well some of the things that she did in the primary campaign right I mean she was able to effectively use her media late she was able to draw on the endorsements of some of the most popular uh elected Democrats in our State our governor our com troller and others if you all remember and maybe you don't she ran an ad at the end that had everybody behind her that had endorsed her and it was a who's who of Maryland Democrats and quite honestly that was a massively effective ad for her so there's a lot she can do to continue to introduce herself but also come on strong and especially with about 4 million in the bank and still money rolling in is there time for her to do that yeah oh yeah there's plenty of time and there's also plenty a time for Dynamics in the election to shift one way or the other one mistake by a candidate or the other can lead things to change you know dramatically certainly and looking at where Larry Hogan is this will be the first time he's on the ballot in the state of Maryland at the same time as the former president Donald Trump we know Hogan has been a vocal critic of trump himself how do you think that factors into how Larry Hogan needs to campaign this year compared to other years when he did see success well for eight years he distanced himself from Donald Trump and the far rightwing of his party and he still has his party support the polls are showing but he's got to be careful it's not just keep his own party support but win a lot of support from others and other places you know to do that he's got to distance himself from Donald Trump throughout this election who is very unpopular in the state of Maryland that's going to be a big trick you know the other thing I've been saying for a while though too is that this is a different electorate it's a different ballot that he's running in than he did for eight years as governor in those two elections he was running in a non-presidential campaign and what happens during a presidential campaign is there's higher turnout and in a state like Maryland where there's very high Democrat registration that means more of them coming out so this is a different kind of election than he's ever run before and so it's a big blue wave that he has to pull away um that's bigger than the one that he had to pull away in the times that he ran for govern quickly last question for you Dr Harley looking at where Larry Hogan stands we know that he's a vocal critic he's running as an anti-a candidate if you will if he loses in this race what does that mean for the more moderate wing of the Republican Party overall well right now though it's still a very tight race even some polls say it's statistically tied so this is a real race and everyone's watching it but on that point it's it's really important um you know we're gonna see after this election and I think generally after this election uh what happens after Donald Trump is no longer there um is the party really about Donald Trump or is it ideologically where it is right now and who will be the a apparent to the party after that if it's still where it is right now Donald Trump favorite um then a person like Larry Hogan is going to have a hard time winning people who remember history are going to remember names like Nelson Rockefeller who became too liberal or too moderate for their own party and Larry Hogan may be just that but still maybe there's a place for him in Maryland politics or in other parts of politics we'll have to wait and see I suppose Roger Harley from the University of Baltimore thank you so much for joining us I appreciate your time thank you so much for yours too all right so to come on profiling each candidate to see where they stand on the issues that matter most to you we'll have an inside look at the also Brooks and Hogan campaigns and as we head to break some breaking news Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to all nine charges in his federal tax case the judge has accepted the plea sentencing scheduled for December 16th let's take a look at some of your other top headlines before the sun is even up federal immigration enforcement officers are gearing up for another round of early morning arrests I say this huran National accused of sexually assulting his friend's 14-year-old daughter marks 159 took him into custody without a problem and just a few hours later well 160 of this this is a a Monumental arrest for us now this target marks 160 sex offenders arrested so far this fiscal year which ends at the end of this month again that's a record number but to Ellison the more important number is how many victims are potentially being prevented by these arrests in a new indict these six men are accused of carrying out a series of destructive computer attacks known as The Whisper gate campaign the world is watching you do not carry out misdeeds in the dark working in the dark five of them were Russian Military Officers this man was a colonel and a commanding officer of cyber operations aminal was a Russian citizen who helped them the group hacking Ukrainian computers with critical information related to finances agriculture emergency Services health care and schools they also stole personal data including medical records from thousands of Ukrainian citizens over the past two weeks I spent time with both Larry Hogan and Angela aler Brooks doing activities they chose earlier today I flipped a coin to determine which profile we'll see first going in alphabetical order we have assigned Angela alsbrooks to heads and Larry Hogan to tals as you can see there it was head so we'll hear from Angela aler books first I went to church with the county executive and talk to her about her platform get on of your feet come on give God some praise this morning a Sunday morning wakeup call Lord God we are going to be thankful unto you is nothing new for Prince George's County Executive Angela alsbrooks as we are in this season preparing for the election it is important that you are registered to vote Al Brooks also running for US Senate the preachings she says have guided her life you know the core of who I am comes from my faith she is our Ken folk from Prince George's County amen we were with also Brooks for Sunday service where she talked about those values my soul shall make her boast in the Lord The Humble will hear after the sermon do you all feel the euphoria that is taking root all across our country that can only be attributable to God so thank you so much again we sat down with alsa Brooks to dive into why she wants to be Maryland's next US senator I've been in public service for 27 years and the desire to run for public service comes from my faith family the opportunity to serve in the Senate would mean that I'd get to serve even more families uh on issues that we all care about please welcome the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maryland with more attention on the senate race also Brooks given a prime time slot during the Democratic National Convention tonight our faith is stronger than our fears faith in the promise of America using the spotlight to make her pitch to voters fresh off for trip to the windy city also Brooks greeted with a warm welcome from supporters it's not about her title it's about what she does for people from her heart I think she has more expertise and she's more with the people a few days later representing marylanders it was the greatest honor one of the main messages running throughout the ALS Brooks campaign is abortion access what do you say to people who also have a deep rooted Faith who are concerned about the issue of abortion how do you share the your message and square your faith with some views that other people of a similar Faith might hold as a woman as the mother of a 19-year-old daughter who I believe that my daughter and every woman in this country deserves the freedom and privacy to make their own health care decisions to decide when and how to expand their families B that by IVF or to to use contraception um to be able to access abortion care uh and to make that very private decision them and their family and not have the government or politicians tell you make decisions for you and your body when it comes to IVF we just saw news recently that the uh former president Donald Trump said that if he were elected he would require insurance companies to cover IVF treatments do you agree with that you know I do agree yes I agree that that that um IVF should be uh covered but you know what the Republicans in the Senate don't believe that and he may say he wants to cover it but if they have the the control of the Senate it will never happen and that gets right to the heart of the campaign itself as well pounding the message control of the Senate could run right through Maryland you know I think that everyone understands the stakes of this election uh we understand not only will the Supreme Court uh the appointees come through the the Senate and but we also understand that in the next president who I believe will be kamla Harris will need a majority in the Senate to be able to get her agenda across setting the majority of the Senate aside what are some key priorities um that you would like to Champion if elected in terms of legislation and action that voters could see real results from you know I'm the daughter of a receptionist and a car salesman grew up in a very workingclass family and so Economic Opportunity growing jobs and income is my number one priority how do you do that from the Senate well you know the permanent child tax credit is one example of ways that we deliver to Everyday hardworking families the kind of relief and help that they need what would be the first bill you would introduce Women's Health protection act is the first bill that I would co-sponsor uh to codify in federal law uh a woman's right to choose I believe that it should be the case of not just women in Maryland I'm interested in women all across across our country um having the freedom and privacy to make that decision with less than 3 months until election day also Brook says she is focused on telling voters she could determine which party controls the United States Senate this best weekend I spent the day tailgating at the Navy game with former Governor Larry Hogan hearing about his platform the sizzling sound I practice for this moment is unmistakable us hey especially when paired with [Music] cheerleaders Navy riling up the crown go Navy go Navy the Naval Academy kicking off their college football season game day program programs programs and this is where we caught up with how are you he thank you very much former governor and current US Senate candidate glad you're here appreciate that thank you hi McKenzie Larry Hogan we're pretty excited about where we are at this point um you know I've been feeling that kind of enthusiasm as we get out around the state it's a difficult race you know I've said from the beginning that I'm uh definitely the underdog you'd be hardpressed to find people in Maryland who don't know Hogan's name coming off of eight years as Governor it's got to be like 11:00 right Larry Hogan has phon popularity not many Republicans have enjoyed in a state like Maryland where Democrats outnumber Republican voters some 2 to one if you were elected what would be the number one issue you would like to Champion in the Senate well I think uh it's the issue I've been trying to Champion for 10 years and that is trying to uh be in the middle of fixing the uh divisiveness and dysfunction and the broken toxic politics in Washington I think I can be a a key voice and a key vote uh to try to ensure that people are working together to get things done I think I can play the same kind of a role that uh Joe mansion and kirston Cinema played as being in the middle trying to work across the aisle just like I did for 8 years as governor in the Blu state in America to be like one of those National names on Capitol Hill Hogan has an uphill battle to get there the last time Maryland voters sent a republican to the US Senate Was 1980 which is why Hogan says he continues to campaign with the Centrist message no one in America stood up uh to his party more than I did in either party uh I've been the leading uh voice of opposition within the Republican party to Donald Trump and the Maga movement being in that middle position uh is exactly what we desperately need down there but Hogan's record in the governor's office specifically vetoing a bill expanding who could perform abortions in the state is a frequent attack from Democrats that veto overridden by the Democrats in control of the general assembly and Hogan says I promised to sponsor a bill to codify row while Hogan has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump the former president did endorse Hogan's Senate effort that's something Hogan says he neither accepted Trump's backing nor did he return the favor critics of the former Governor pointed top Republicans recruitment of him to get in the race in the first place if push comes to shove and let's say republican leadership says okay former Governor Hogan you would be able to get a key seat on a committee if you do X Y and Z for us I think everybody in Maryland knows that I couldn't care less about that I don't care about committees or office space or whatever there's nothing they can do to influence me control of the Senate could hinge on who wins this race leading to Maryland's Senate race drawing national attention and big money well I don't really care about any of that my I'm I'm just other people do I know but I don't think they're going to win that's all they want to talk about is National politics but the average voter doesn't care about that at all they don't care about flipping the seat they don't care about you know Chuck Schumer or Mitch McConnell I'm telling you the people out here care about affordability they care about crime they care about everyday issues as we make our way through the parking lot parties with people how are you welcome thank you very much 100% I appreciate that hog Embraces campaign mode poker chip cuz we're all in all in I like that ready one two taking photos I got my Allin chip and meeting people like Lou McIntyre I am a lifelong Republican I have never voted for Democrat in my life and I'm voting a straight Democratic ticket this year except for him why is that I don't like Trump looks like you working pretty hard and it's on to the next group how are you nice to see you you're not playing around kids play football in the shadow of Navy stadium and Hogan it's like that goat's pretty hungry meets more supporters I'm a it's going to be a sweaty hug I apologize we get a photo like aissa pasta no I just think he's a very great person well rounded loves all of Maryland who says she's been a Hogan backer since the co pandemic I will be getting my vote it's getting closer to kickoff as the band makes its way into the Stadium Hogan makes his pitch to voters clear you know I'm more concerned about the red white and blue than just the red versus the blue as time winds down the midshipman make their way into their seats as well step good left right and it's a race against the clock for voters to make up their minds who do they want to send to Washington as Maryland's next US senator you can watch both of those profiles again along with this entire edition of Fox 45 News in depth on our YouTube page search for Fox Baltimore and don't forget to subscribe this week we asked you what matters more this election party control of the senate or the issues we'll take a look at the responses after the [Music] break that's all for this week's edition of Fox 45 News in depth I'm McKenzie Frost but before we go let's take a look at some of our posts from tagboard we asked everyone to tell us what they think was more important about the race itself let's take a look someone said Brian said party control would will determine what issues are addressed that's an interesting perspective Diana says issues and someone who is strong enough to say no to more spending until the bills are paid up one more Karen the issues following the party is what created this mess in the first place and Ken says get the most qualified candidate not first this or a first that everyone who answered our questions really provided incredible insight and thank you all for your opinions stay with us and again that's all for this week's edition of Fox 45 News in depth I'm Mackenzie Frost I'm Kai Jackson thank you for watching here's another video to watch also please take a moment to subscribe to our Channel