The Maryland Democratic Party announced Tuesday it hired a communications adviser to focus on "holding Governor Larry Hogan accountable."
Hogan, a popular Republican, has amassed a $5.1 million war chest for his 2018 re-election bid, and Democrats have not coalesced around a candidate to face him.
In recent weeks, the Democratic Party has aggressively sought to tie Hogan to Republican President Donald Trump, pressuring the governor to take a position on Trump's controversial travel ban. Hogan has declined to do so.
The Democrats hired Bryan Lesswing to manage the party's "communications and messaging strategy focused on holding Governor Larry Hogan accountable," according to a news release. Lesswing most recently worked as a regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The Democratic Governors Association, which works to elect members of their party to lead states across the country, began criticizing Hogan for not taking a position on Trump's candidacy last year. Hogan later said he would not vote for the New York businessman, who won the Electoral College in November but in Maryland lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by a landslide.
As protesters crowded the international arrivals hall at BWI Marshall Airport last week to denounce President Donald J. Trump's immigration ban, online commenters bombarded Gov. Larry Hogan's Facebook page to demand that he take a position.
Two other GOP governors in Democratic states had condemned...
As protesters crowded the international arrivals hall at BWI Marshall Airport last week to denounce President Donald J. Trump's immigration ban, online commenters bombarded Gov. Larry Hogan's Facebook page to demand that he take a position.
Two other GOP governors in Democratic states had condemned...
In December, the DGA began targeting Hogan with e-mail blasts accusing the governor of having ties to the Trump administration.
Hogan has sought to distance himself from the president and refused to answer some questions about him.
When people bombarded the governor's Facebook page recently asking him to take a position, the governor deleted the requests and banned some of the posters from commenting again. His staff said they considered the request part of an organized political "spam" attack.
Maryland's governor, whose job approval ratings have been above 70 percent in recent months, has helped raise money for the Republican Governors Association —the counterpart of the DGA —and serves on the organization's executive committee.
Democratic members of the General Assembly are pushing for a law that would dramatically curtail state and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Democratic members of the General Assembly are pushing for a law that would dramatically curtail state and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The state Senate gave final approval Friday to a joint resolution broadening the authority of the state's chief lawyer. (Michael Dresser/Baltimore Sun video)
The state Senate gave final approval Friday to a joint resolution broadening the authority of the state's chief lawyer. (Michael Dresser/Baltimore Sun video)
There are 33 Republican governors and 17 Democratic ones in the country.
Several Maryland Democrats have said they're considering a challenge to Hogan, including Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker, but none have launched a campaign.
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