STEVENSVILLE, Maryland — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday laid out his agenda to make life more affordable for Marylanders suffering from years of inflation as he seeks election to the U.S. Senate.
The 68-year-old centrist Republican discussed his economic priorities at a campaign stop in Stevensville. Speaking behind the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Hogan touted his eight-year tenure as governor and pledged to bring his experience to Washington, D.C.
“You see the bridge behind me,” Hogan told the group gathered. “We cut tolls for the first time in 50 years at every single toll facility across the state. We eliminated 350 fees, and we cut taxes eight years in a row by $4.7 billion.”
Hogan is taking on 53-year-old Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who is the executive of Maryland’s Prince George’s County. She beat out Rep. David Trone (D-MD) in the primary despite him dumping tens of millions of dollars of his own money into the race.
Hogan pointed out how much inflation has affected his past, and perhaps future, constituents. The economy more generally, and inflation more specifically, has been the biggest issue in this year’s election cycle. It is a major vulnerability for President Joe Biden and Democrats.
The Federal Reserve considers healthy inflation to be about 2% annual growth, but as of now, annual inflation is running at 3.3%, according to the consumer price index. That comes after now three years of cumulative inflation, with annual price growth punching in at 9% at one point.
“Washington continues to run up the debt, causing inflation and doing nothing to make life more affordable,” Hogan said at the campaign event. “The American dream is slipping away for far too many because of high inflation, which makes it harder and harder for many Marylanders to afford basic necessities.”
Alongside the campaign stop, Hogan’s team released a five-point plan roughly outlining Hogan’s affordability goals should become the first Republican since 1987 to represent Maryland in the Senate.
On the tax front, Hogan vowed to take a pro-taxpayer stance in Washington, which includes championing the child tax credit and the earned-income tax credit. Hogan also wants to index housing gains and Social Security taxes to inflation in the tax code, according to the campaign.
When asked by the Washington Examiner about the child tax credit, and a potential expansion of the popular program, Hogan said, “We’ll take a look at whatever can help hardworking families and retirees and small businesses.”
He also said he wants to reauthorize a higher standard deduction and eliminate the cap on the deduction for state and local taxes paid, known as the SALT cap.
The federal deduction for SALT was capped at $10,000 by the 2017 Republican tax overhaul, and the cap applies to individual and married filers. Changes to the SALT CAP — namely, raising it or removing it — have long been a priority for Republicans in high-tax states.
Hogan’s platform also includes helping with housing affordability. Home prices have exploded and, coupled with high mortgage rates, have put homebuying out of reach for many consumers. His campaign noted that, through public-private partnerships, more than 28,000 housing units were built while he was governor.
“Home prices have surged to an astonishing 47% increase and interest rates have doubled. The last thing that Marylanders need right now is tax hikes,” Hogan said.
He also blames red tape and regulations for part of the problem, with the campaign noting that a big chunk of the price of a home is attributable to federal, state, and local regulations.
Another point in his plan is reducing healthcare costs for constituents. As part of that effort, Hogan wants to seek bipartisan solutions to expand affordable coverage and help drive down the cost of prescription drugs.
Regarding affordable education, a fact sheet from the campaign said Hogan will fight for tax credits, charter schools, and educational scholarship accounts.
Hogan spoke on Wednesday about how government spending and poor budgeting is hurting the country and Marylanders. He leaned on how he was able to balance the budget as governor while avoiding hiking taxes.
“We didn’t have a single tax increase for eight years, the entire time I was governor, and we turned a record $5.1 billion deficit, the worst in Maryland history, into a $5.5 billion record surplus which was the largest in history,” Hogan said.
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Hogan’s campaign is one of the most closely watched in the country given his popularity as a Republican governor in a blue state. Hogan left office with an impressive 77% approval rating, including an 81% approval rating among Maryland Democrats.
He is hoping to ride his popularity and tenure as governor into a victory, although it is set to be a closely fought race. A RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls shows Alsobrooks with a nine-point lead over Hogan.