Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The Democratic wave that pushed through elections in Virginia and other states Tuesday could spell trouble for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican in a blue state, when he runs for re-election in 2018.
“He’s gotta hope that this is a Democratic wave cresting, not a Democratic wave that is just beginning to build,” said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Eberly said Hogan’s re-election campaign has been based on getting people to focus on him and his record, not the R next to his name.
“What his fear is is that 2018 is going to turn into ‘We’ve gotta send a message to Donald Trump and nothing else matters,'” Eberly said.
Eberly said President Trump will be the unnamed person on the ballot in 2018, and Democrats will do everything they can to link Hogan to the president or at least keep reminding voters that the two are members of the same party.
If the opposition to the president and Republicans continues to grow, Eberly said it will be difficult for Hogan to get people to vote for him based on his record of championing populist causes, including more traditional school year schedules, Interstate highway widening and ordering the removal of the statue of slavery-era Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Tawny at the State House in Annapolis.
But, with a 65 percent job approval rating, Eberly said Hogan can win if he is able to make it an election about him against someone else.
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