What’s on the ballot in Maryland: Key races, 2024 election question

Maryland US Senate Seat: Hogan vs Alsobrooks

BETHESDA, Md. – In the national spotlight is the fact that Marylanders could decide which political party will lead the US Senate for the next four years.

The race for the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin is between former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and incumbent Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Democrat.

READ MORE: Who is Larry Hogan? Everything you need to know about Maryland’s Republican candidate for US Senate

This unusually competitive race has already attracted at least $84.6 million in combined contributions, according to an Oct. 20 Washington Post report.recently conducted surveyconcluded in the third week of October, showed Alsobrooks with a 12-point lead over Hogan.

Abortion is the main issue for the two candidates, who they both say I am pro-choice. The two have also asked about other matters – and faced criticism on ethical issues.

Hogan has been criticized for potential conflicts of interest involving his real estate firm, according to a exclusive report by Time. Alsobrooks was accused of benefiting from tax credits for which she was not eligible. Both maintain their innocence.

“If you’re talking about raising taxes on everybody else, and (Alsobrooks) wants to raise the Social Security tax, but she took advantage of a tax break that should have gone to poor seniors. And she’s not poor or elderly,” Hogan said. “She’s the chief tax collector and she hasn’t paid her own taxes.”

Hogan, who was a vocal critic of Trump when he was in the White House, said he would not support Trump’s re-election — even Trump endorsed Hogan.

“I didn’t ask for his approval,” Hogan told FOX 5’s Jim Lokay. “I’m not going to be a rubber stamp for anybody.”

But on a call with donors Wednesday, Hogan voiced his support for Trump, CNN reports.

“Donald Trump actually endorsed me,” Hogan said in response to a donor who asked about the perception that Trump and Hogan “hate each other.”

Alsobrooks focused her campaign in part on the idea of ​​the 51st vote and Democratic control of the Senate.

READ MORE: Who is Angela Alsobrooks? Everything you need to know about Maryland’s Democratic candidate for US Senate

“This race is about defeating Donald Trump. It’s about making sure we protect our reproductive freedoms. It’s about making sure we have sensible gun laws to protect our children from gun violence. It’s about protecting the vote. This is about building an economy that works for all of our children,” Alsobrooks said. “This race is also about keeping the 51st vote. That’s why the Senate race is also so important to make sure we confirm Supreme Court justices who respect our liberties, unlike these conservative justices.”

Maryland Question 1: “Right to Freedom of Reproduction” Constitutional Amendment

Maryland voters will decide whether abortion rights should be included in the state constitution when they cast their ballots. But some — on both sides — wonder why the wording of the ballot question doesn’t mention the word “abortion” at all.

Ballot Question 1 states that it would affirm a person’s right to “reproductive freedom” and “pregnancy” decisions, but nowhere in its 59 words does it actually use the word abortion.

The ballot language says “the proposed amendment affirms a person’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make decisions to prevent, continue, or terminate a person’s pregnancy.”

Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee confirmed the wording before it was placed on the ballot. The state already has abortion rights protected by state law. Amending the state constitution to include it as a “Bill of Rights” would replace it and potentially serve as another layer of protection should the US Supreme Court move to restrict abortion rights again after overturned Roe v. Wade.

Maryland’s 6th Congressional District

The race to succeed outgoing Rep. David Trone in the state’s 6th Congressional District is proving to be closer than expected.

April McClain Delaney, the Democratic candidate and former Commerce Department official, faces Republican Neil Parrott, a former state lawmaker who is running for the seat for the third time. As Election Day nears, concerns are growing from Democrats.

“Suggests this race is going to be a lot tighter than they hoped,” Punchbowl News reporter Mica Soellner said during a Final 5 appearance with Jim Lokay.

The 6th District, which includes Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties in western Maryland, plus Frederick County and part of Montgomery County, has leaned Democratic in recent years but is no stranger to competitive races.

Redistricting also made the district friendlier to GOP candidates, although the last Republican elected was former Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who was defeated in a narrow re-election bid in 2012 by John Delaney. He vacated the seat in 2020 in favor of a short-lived bid for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

In this race, though, it’s his marriage to the current Democratic candidate that some insiders told Soellner could be his Achilles’ heel.

Citing “senior Democrats,” Soellner said “the biggest complaints I’ve heard are that she’s not putting enough money into her campaign and not enough into the district. She is running only on the identity name”.

But McClain-Delaney was quick to respond to those criticisms, telling the Maryland News Service, “I run my own race.”

“Parrot is definitely more conservative than other Republicans in Congress,” Soellner noted, adding that Parrott has secured major endorsements, including from the entire House GOP leadership. “(House Majority Leader) Steve Scalise will be campaigning for it next week,” she said, signaling that the Republican Party sees this as a potential takeover opportunity.

Delaney’s campaign focused heavily on abortion rights, a key issue for Democrats across the country. To that end, McClain-Delaney’s campaign has released ads attacking Parrott’s past votes against strengthening marital rape laws and pro-choice efforts, and citing her four daughters as inspiration for entering the race.

Meanwhile, Parrott is focusing his message on the economy and inflation. He also gets major support from the House Freedom Caucus and its new leader, Rep. Andy Harris, who is currently the only Republican member of Maryland’s congressional delegation.

However, major political forecasts signal that the race may still be an uphill one for Republicans. The Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball both rated the race as “likely Democratic,” favoring McClain-Delaney.

Watch and stream live, updated results of the 2024 election after the polls close and voting ends on Election Day for the presidential election, the balance of power in the House and Senate and these and other local races in Virginia, Maryland and DC on the free FOX LOCAL app for smartphones and TVs or fox5dc.com/election.