Larry Hogan Posts First Attack Ad Hours After Ben Jealous' Win
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- And so it begins...
Just hours after Ben Jealous won the Democratic primary for governor in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan posted his first ad attacking Jealous' single-payer health care plan.
Introducing Ben Jealous: A risky blend of ideological extremism and recklessness whose policies will take money out of the pockets of every single Marylander. His plan is simple - raise your taxes to fund his "pie in the sky" experiments. #MDGov #MDPolitics pic.twitter.com/a5MkuOLfdy
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) June 27, 2018
"If you liked Martin O'Malley, you're gonna love this guy, 'cause he's talking about tens of billions of dollars in tax increases," Hogan said.
Jealous fired back on Wednesday.
"This issue of taxes, Larry Hogan? I got a message for Larry Hogan. First of all, brother, you didn't keep your promise. You told people you were gonna cut taxes all over the place -- you didn't do it," he said.
The former NAACP president outdistanced his closest competitor in a field of six by 80,000 votes in the race to take on the popular incumbent Republic governor in the general election in November.
"Y'all gotta recognize, you might have forgotten, but we started this race in fourth and ended up in first," Jealous said during his victory speech Tuesday.
Hogan congratulated Jealous Tuesday night on his win, as well as, Jealous' opponents.
Congratulations to @BenJealous on a hard fought victory. I look forward to a vigorous debate on the direction of our state and the issues that matter most to Marylanders. #MDGov #MDPolitics
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) June 27, 2018
I also want to congratulate the 7 other Democratic candidates on their valiant efforts. Best wishes to them for the future. #MDGov #MDPolitics
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) June 27, 2018
Jealous and Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker seesawed for the lead in the campaign. Baker is now aligned with jealous.
"I told him that we're going to do everything we can to make sure he is victorious in November because the main thing is we need to get a Democrat back in Annapolis," Baker said.
The two will have their work cut for them, including convincing members of their own party.
"The Washington Post poll said two-thirds of the Democrats approve of the job we're doing, so if there's a blue wave, two-thirds of them are probably going to come out and vote for me," Hogan said.
Jealous says otherwise.
"Just like winning this primary was our goal, just like winning the general is our goal, it is not what we want to do, it is what we will do," he said.
Maryland now has two very different points of view to choose from.
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