Larry Hoganwho won the Republican nomination for Maryland’s open Senate seat earlier this week, is casting himself as “pro choice,” marking a significant shift from his previous stance on abortion as he gears up for what is expected to be a competitive general election become.
“I think the people of Maryland know and trust that if I give them my word, I will keep it,” Hogan told the New York Times on Thursday, saying he supports legislation to enshrine abortion rights in federal law anchor. said he planned to vote to approve a measure that will appear on the state ballot in November that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
In a post on X, Hogan also reiterated his pledge to support abortion rights.
“As governor, I protected the rights of Maryland women to make their own decisions about reproductive health,” Hogan wrote. “I will do the same in the Senate by restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. No one should come between a woman and her doctor.”
The comments are some of Hogan’s strongest on the subject.
In February, he wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post saying he doesn’t “fit into one box” on the issue and that it’s time to “take our politics back from the extremes.”
In 2022, Hogan, who was then governor, vetoed a state bill to expand access to the procedure. After his veto was overridden, he withheld $3.5 million that state lawmakers had set aside to train new providers.
In their efforts to defeat Hogan, Democrats will likely try to tie Hogan to the national Republican Party’s position on abortion.
Hogan’s latest comments come days after he was nominated by the Republican Party, pitting him against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in what is expected to be a tight Senate race in solidly Democratic Maryland.
Campaigns for Hogan and Alsobrooks did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment on Thursday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
