Former President Donald Trump supporters have become purists in recent years, and in a different way than Republicans normally demand perfection from politicians on their side. That demand for purity could help Democrats keep control of the Senate this year.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has angered Trumpers for regularly criticizing the former president and refusing to vote for him. Hogan has also angered Republicans who point out his moderate, and they would say lackluster, record as governor.
I share some criticisms of Hogan, and I reject other criticisms.
A lot of Republicans attack Hogan for shutting down so much of the state in April 2020. In retrospect, the school closures, the business closures, and the other immediate reactions to the pandemic did more harm than good. But Hogan, unlike many governors, moved to reopen the state as the evidence pointed in that direction.
Again, in retrospect, he should have reopened quicker, but he was actually well ahead of the media and political class in Maryland on reopening.
When Baltimore City and Montgomery County insisted on staying locked down, Hogan publicly excoriated them. Some Republicans blame him for not forcing MoCo and Baltimore to reopen faster, but Maryland’s constitution gives so much autonomy to municipalities that Hogan didn’t seem to have the power to do so.
My main problem with Hogan is that he tries to dance around the abortion matter.
But the question before voters and commentators now is whether Hogan would be a good senator. For a pro-life Republican, there’s reason to believe Hogan would be frustrating and at the left end of the Senate GOP caucus. But also, it’s pretty clear he is the most conservative person who could possibly get elected to the Senate from Maryland.
Even if Hogan were another Susan Collins, Susan Collins is better than a Democrat. Also, Hogan is to the right of Collins on abortion, even if he’s to the left of the GOP as a whole.
At the moment, none of the other Republican candidates for this Senate seat look like they would have a chance in the general, so in the GOP primary, the question is, Do you nominate a guy who has proven he could win statewide, or do you nominate someone who is certain to lose to the Democrat in November?
And in the general election, some Trump supporters or conservatives might be tempted to cast protest votes — I do that all the time! But in this case, Hogan is far more conservative than the likely Democratic nominee, Angela Alsobrooks, and he might have a real chance of defeating Alsobrooks.
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I’m not a “lesser-of-two-evils” adherent. I try not to vote for candidates who don’t meet my basic standards of not being evil. Hogan is imperfect, but he’s definitely on the right side of the evil/not-evil divide.
I don’t blame people who criticized Hogan’s governorship — I did, too. But if you are a Republican or a conservative, it seems that Hogan in the Senate is a far better outcome than any plausible alternative.
