Gov. Hogan congratulates expected Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates at State House

BALTIMORE - Expected Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates visited the State House in Annapolis and met with Gov. Larry Hogan.

Hogan shared a photo of him shaking Bates' hand on social media.

The governor offered his congratulations on winning July's primary.

Bates, a Democrat, is unopposed in next month's General Election after unaffiliated candidate Roya Hanna announced she was withdrawing from the race.

"It was a pleasure to welcome Ivan Bates to the State House to congratulate him, and discuss the path forward for holding violent criminals accountable in Baltimore City," Hogan said.

Bates defeated incumbent Marilyn Mosby and Thiru Vignarajah in July's Democratic primary.

Gov. Hogan has been critical of Mosby's handling of Baltimore City crime.

In returning, in November, 2021, Mosby accused the governor of criticizing Baltimore and its leaders to score political points.

Mosby shared a decade's worth of data detailing which cases the State Attorney's Office chose not to prosecute.

Mosby also implied Hogan's refusal to meet with her and other Black leaders of the city is not only unproductive but racist.  

"The governor has been coming for me for seven years," Mosby said Tuesday. "He continues his incessant dog whistling attacks about Baltimore crime... his actions are purely political."

In November, the governor threatened to withhold funding to Mosby's office if he didn't receive data to evaluate her office's work, but Mosby said the data was always available and sent the governor an open letter with 30 pages of data.

Mosby said the governor refuses to meet with city leaders, but instead blames them. 

"In his time in office, he has blamed the mayor, the police commissioner, the judges, city council and even the state legislature for the crime in Baltimore City," Mosby said. 

In:
• Maryland General Election 2022