Political notes: New Dem website hits Hogan; ex-Hogan aide seeks council seat

The Maryland Democratic Party's new website, which seeks to remind voters that Republican Larry Hogan is a Republican.

Fresh off of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks’ star turn at the Democratic National Convention last week, the Maryland Democratic Party is launching a website on Tuesday whacking her Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race, former Gov. Larry Hogan.

The gist of the Democrats’ attack: Hogan is a Republican.

This is hardly news.

But the new Democratic Party website, https://www.republicanlarryhogan.com , attempts to frame the kind of Republican Hogan is.

Throughout his successful political career, Hogan has built a brand as a political pragmatist, free from the dictates of the national GOP and willing to work with Democrats in a Democratic state. He’s been hugely critical of former President Donald Trump through the years, and has tried to modulate some of his natural conservative positions, especially now that he’s seeking a Senate seat in a presidential election year, and with a ballot initiative codifying abortion rights in the state Constitution up for a vote this November.

The new Democratic website features photos of Hogan, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on its homepage.

“Republican Larry Hogan was personally recruited by Mitch McConnell to help Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate,” the website says. “Any vote for Larry Hogan is a vote to give Republicans the 51st seat they need to push forward an extreme agenda that’s out of touch with Marylanders, including banning abortion nationwide.”

Other sections of the website try to hammer home the theme, which Democrats have been pressing since Hogan got into the race in February. It lists several Republican positions on key issues that many Marylanders probably oppose; charts conservative Republicans who have endorsed Hogan; and discusses three “extremist” GOP senators — Cruz, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — who are in line for powerful committee chairmanships if Republicans retake control of the Senate.

Hogan has said he plans to caucus with Republicans if he’s elected, but he also continues to play up his political independence and complains about “partisan attacks” that try to pigeonhole him.

“He set out to build a movement when he first launched his Senate campaign,” a Hogan solicitation said Monday. “A movement to end the toxic partisanship and dysfunction in our nation’s capital and bring people together so we can finally make progress on the biggest issues we face.”

Gunz and butter

Speaking of Hogan and his attempts to shy away from partisanship, a Democrat who served in Hogan’s administration is trying to join the Annapolis City Council.

Ron Gunzburger, a longtime Hogan friend and adviser, announced last week that he is seeking the Ward 1 seat in downtown Annapolis that became vacant when Alderwoman Elly Tierney (D) resigned because she is moving out of state.

Gunzburger’s campaign is two-fold: He’s seeking an appointment for the vacancy when the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee meets on Sept. 3 to fill the position for the next 14 months. But regardless of whether he prevails in that vote, Gunzburger plans to run for the seat in the Democratic primary in September 2025.

“I love Annapolis, but we’re facing a lot of tough issues,” Gunzburger said. “I’m running to make Annapolis a better, safer, and more affordable community.”

Gunzburger, 61, held several roles during the Hogan administration and on the governor’s campaigns, including as director of COVID Response Strategy throughout the pandemic state of emergency. His relationship with Hogan goes back to the 1992 election cycle, when he managed Hogan’s unsuccessful congressional campaign against veteran U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th).

Gunzburger currently serves as chief of staff of the nonprofit StoryCorps, which among other things has a weekly radio segment on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” An attorney, Gunzburger has also worked as a public defender, a prosecutor and in a top staff job at the Broward County Sheriff’s Department in Florida, where he grew up.

He also runs Politics1.com , a valuable resource for political junkies who want to keep tabs on elections across the country.

Gunzburger is competing for the appointment with Harry Huntley, an environmental policy analyst who recently resigned as treasurer of the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee; Genevieve Torri, a marketing specialist and political activist; and business executives Tom Sells and Tom Krieck.

According to The Capital, Huntley has been endorsed by several city council members, including Tierney and Mayor Gavin Buckley (D).