Maryland candidates debate abortion rights in widely watched US Senate race

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Maryland candidates debate abortion rights in widely watched US Senate race

2024-10-11 02:40 Last Updated At：02:51

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Democrat Angela Alsobrooks highlighted former Gov. Larry Hogan's actions in office as evidence he isn't as supportive of abortion rights as he now claims to be, while Hogan challenged the criticism during a debate in a widely watched Senate race in Maryland.

Alsobrooks, in the hourlong debate on Maryland Public Television, criticized Hogan's veto of a bill in 2022 to expand abortion rights by ending a restriction that only physicians can provide abortions in the state. The Legislature overrode the veto, and the law enables nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide care.

“The Republican Party has declared war on women’s reproductive freedoms," Alsobrooks said. “We recognize that this party of chaos and division that is led by (former President) Donald Trump is one that cannot lead our country and also has severe consequences for Marylanders.”

Hogan emphasized that he supports abortion rights, and said Alsobrooks' criticism of him didn’t reflect his position. He said he would cosponsor legislation to codify Roe v. Wade, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2022. The former governor said his veto was due to concern about allowing health care providers who aren't doctors perform abortions.

“It was allowing non-medical professionals, and for you to lie about something as important as this issue, it really is insulting," Hogan said.

The former governor also said he would be an independent voice who will stand up to partisanship in the Senate and do what he believes is best for the nation.

“You’re going to hear nothing but red vs. blue," Hogan said. "I care more — a lot more — about the red, white and blue.”

The race is getting national attention because it is unusually competitive this year in a deeply blue state where its outcome could determine whether Democrats or Republicans get control of the Senate.

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate advantage, including independent senators who caucus with Democrats. And Democrats have to defend 23 seats out of the 33 Senate seats on the ballot around the country this November.

If elected, Alsobrooks would be Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator.

While a Republican has not won a Senate race in Maryland in more than 40 years, Hogan has wide name recognition. In the last two U.S. Senate races in Maryland, the Democratic candidate won by more than 30 percentage points against candidates who were not well-known. But Hogan, who once considered running for president and has often appeared on national news programs, is the most formidable Republican candidate in years.

In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2-1, the popular two-term former governor won over enough Democratic voters to win two statewide races in 2014 and 2018.

Still, Hogan has a difficult needle to thread. This election was the first time Hogan is running on the same ballot as Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland. Hogan has been one of the GOP's fiercest Trump critics, which has helped him win support from some Democrats, but also risked turning off some Republican voters.

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights have become a major campaign issue around the country. Maryland voters will be deciding whether to pass a constitutional amendment in November to enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution. Maryland is one of nine states where abortion rights on the ballot this year.

Since 2018, Alsobrooks has served as the county executive of Prince George’s County, Maryland’s second most populous jurisdiction in the suburbs of the nation’s capital. Before that, she served as the county’s top prosecutor since 2011.

The Latest: Harris visiting Nevada and Arizona while Trump speaks in Michigan

2024-10-11 02:48 Last Updated At：02:50

As Florida grapples with the effects of Hurricane Milton, presidential campaigning remains in full swing in battleground states across the U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a Univision town hall in Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon before going to an evening rally in Phoenix while remaining in close contact with the White House and monitoring federal disaster response efforts.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, was speaking at the Economic Club of Detroit, where he complained about the federal response to Hurricane Helene as he seeks to gain a political advantage from the tropical weather.

Even amid the hurricane, however, both the Harris and Trump campaigns are using their travel strategically, trying to increase support with key voting blocs who could decide an election expected to be exceedingly close.

Former President Barack Obama is also hitting the campaign trail on Thursday night, making his first appearance for Harris at a rally in Pittsburgh. That begins what the Harris campaign says will be a series of campaign stops Obama will make on the vice president’s behalf.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

DETROIT — Donald Trump again complained about the federal response to natural disasters that have damaged much of the Southeast as he seeks to gain a political advantage from the tropical weather.

While speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday, Trump sent a message to people affected by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. He praised Republican governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina but suggested the federal response had been lacking, particularly in North Carolina, where he alleged the government after Helene had “not done what you’re supposed to be doing.”

“They’ve let those people suffer unjustly,” said Trump, who has for several days promoted falsehoods about the response of President Joe Biden and emergency management officials.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is again criticizing his predecessor, Donald Trump, for spreading misinformation about the federal government’s hurricane response efforts, declaring “Get a life, man.”

Addressing reporters Thursday about Hurricane Milton’s destruction, Biden said he wouldn’t call Trump directly. But asked what his message would be for Trump, Biden squared his shoulders and more directly faced the camera.

“Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life man,” Biden said. “Help these people.”

The White House, and Biden personally, have spent days decrying Trump for making false claims about disaster response, including that federal funding is being diverted for use on people in the country illegally and that such assistance is capped at $750.

DETROIT — Donald Trump announced on Thursday that one of his two daughters, Tiffany Trump, is expecting her first baby with husband Michael Boulos.

The former president delivered the news as he gave a speech at the Economic Club of Detroit and thanked Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, Massad Boulos.

Tiffany Trump, 30, is the daughter of Donald Trump and actor Marla Maples.

Massad Boulos is a Lebanese-born businessman who has been helping Trump with the influential Arab American community in the swing state of Michigan.

Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to CNN town hall on Oct. 23 in Pennsylvania, her campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a Thursday statement.

It comes after former President Donald Trump ruled out another debate with Harris after their first head-to-head contest last month. Harris had called for Trump to face her once more before polls close.

“Donald Trump’s refusal to join Vice President Harris on the debate stage again is a disservice to the American people, O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. "They deserve to see the candidates side-by-side one more time before casting their ballots for one last look at their vastly different visions for America. After backing out of 60 Minutes and doing 27 straight interviews with conservative media, unfortunately it is clear Trump would rather cocoon himself in safe spaces and avoid real questions about his harmful plans and failed divisive leadership.”

Donald Trump says CBS should lose its broadcast license over the way “60 Minutes” edited its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week.

Trump, in a post on his social media site, accused the network of perpetrating a “giant Fake News Scam” after different CBS shows, “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation,” depicted Harris giving different answers, an apparent result of editing.

“TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE. Election Interference,” Trump railed. “She is a Moron, and the Fake News Media wants to hide that fact.”

CBS has not responded to questions about the apparent discrepancies.

This is not the first time Trump has threatened to go after a network’s license.

He has said ABC deserved to lose theirs after they moderated his debate with Harris, and has previously threatened NBC and CNN for reporting he didn’t like.

The Harris campaign openly challenged Trump’s economic record ahead of the Republican nominee’s Thursday speech in Detroit, part of a broader effort to chip away at the former president’s credibility.

On a call with reporters organized by the campaign, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, called Trump the “job-killer-in-chief.” Despite Trump’s promises to bring back factory jobs, Fain said, “The reality is Trump never brought back squat.”

Back in 2000, Michigan had nearly 900,000 factory jobs. That number nearly halved after the 2008 financial crisis, only to then slowly recover 633,900 jobs in 2018. But factory work in Michigan began to slump in 2019 and then plunged during the pandemic, all during Trump’s term. Labor Department data show that manufacturing work in the state still hasn’t fully recovered with there being 604,800 jobs in the sector as of August.