Hogan vowed to fight ‘isolationists’ in both parties to ensure the U.S. continues supporting Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel.
Washington, D.C. – Maryland Republican senate candidate Larry Hogan outlined his strongly pro-Israel foreign policy Wednesday, one day after Iran launched a barrage of roughly 180 missiles at the Jewish state.
Speaking at the pro-Israel Jewish Institute for National Security of America in downtown Washington, Hogan unapologetically stood behind Israel ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s mass slaughter, rape, and kidnapping of innocent civilians.
“In the last 24 hours the Iranian attack on the people of Israel has reminded us that Iran and its proxies would commit October 7ths every single day if given the chance. The only thing that stands in the way is the resolve and strength of the people of Israel and the support of the United States,” Hogan began.
The Israeli military intercepted many of the missiles and only a handful of injuries were reported. Missile shrapnel killed a Palestinian man living in the West Bank, the only casualty from the attack. Iran carried out the missile attack in retaliation for the deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, both of which have been attributed to Israel.
With D.C. lawmakers out of session, Hogan urged congress to reconvene in order to pass a package containing military aid for Israel. If such a package goes through, it would likely include disaster relief for western North Carolina and other areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Hogan, a popular two-term governor, is running a centrist campaign against Democratic rival Angela Alsobrooks, the county executive for Prince George’s county. Polls show a tight race between Hogan and Alsobrooks for a deep-blue seat that could solidify a Republican Senate flip this November.
A common theme of Hogan’s campaign is discontent with the Washington political class and hyper-partisan politics. The collapse of a bipartisan national-security and immigration package inspired Hogan to jump into the senate race after conservatives strongly criticized the immigration component.
“It is not an accident that our enemies are working every single day to fuel our divisions,” Hogan said. “The chaos, divisiveness, and dysfunction in Washington and in America creates chaos, divisiveness, and dysfunction around the world.”
He vowed to fight “isolationists” in both parties to ensure the U.S. continues supporting Ukraine and Taiwan, in addition to Israel.
Alsobrooks, a relatively unknown Democrat prior to the senate race, is supported by the Democratic Majority for Israel, a pro-Israel Democratic activist group. But, she previously told the Washington Post that she opposed Israel’s military offensive in Rafah, an area in southern Gaza considered to be a Hamas stronghold, and suggested the Biden administration withhold “offensive weaponry” from Israel for waging the offensive. In July, Hogan wrote a letter to Alsobrooks urging her to reverse her position and criticizing her for aligning with the anti-Israel wing of her party.
“My opponent in this race has repeatedly demanded that Israel enact an immediate and unilateral cease-fire, and she has even called for cutting off critical military aid to Israel. Iran has now twice fired hundreds of missiles directly at Israeli civilians. They are on the brink of a nuclear weapon and are using the $100 billion of assets that were unfrozen by the Biden administration to finance that and terror across the region,” Hogan said, referring to the White House’s sanctions relief for Iran.
“For my opponent to think that cutting off aid to Israel is the way to solve this problem is not just wrong. It is disqualifying,” Hogan emphasized.
“I recognize that there are politicians on both sides of the aisle who will say and do anything to appease the loudest and angriest voices in their party. But I think you know that I am not one of them,” Hogan continued.
“At this critical moment, Maryland’s Jewish community and all Marylanders deserve a pro-Israel champion in the United States senate who will stand up and fight for our closest and most important ally.”
The anniversary of October 7 is expected to ignite anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses and elsewhere. A federal judge ruled that anti-Israel students at the University of Maryland will be allowed to hold an anti-Israel event on October 7, a move Hogan opposes, after the school canceled the event due to pressure from Hogan and other concerned parties.
Last year, anti-Israel demonstrations erupted on college campuses following the October 7 massacre and the beginning of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas. Hogan said that he resigned from fellowships at Harvard University because of anti-Israel demonstrations and former Harvard president Claudine Gay’s inability to state clearly during a congressional hearing whether calls for “intifada” violated the school’s code of conduct.
After his speech, Hogan told National Review that he distinguished between student activism and the outside agitators whose presence is commonplace at campus demonstrations.
“There’s no question that there’s professional agitators and organizers,” Hogan said. “There are students that just feel strongly about the issue. It’s generic, it’s real grassroots activism. Some of it should be protected by free speech. But there’s also outside actors that are trying to further divide the country and further inflame the situation and we need to root them out.”
Hogan also said he would support Senate investigations into the outside activist organizations.
In response to a request for comment, the Alsobrooks campaign provided her statement on the Iranian attack advocating for Israel’s right to self defense.
“Iran’s actions against Israel are horrific and unacceptable. I stand with our democratic ally Israel in its right to defend itself and support our shared goal of preventing a regional war. In the Senate, I will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” Alsobrooks said.
The Alsobrooks campaign also cited endorsements from pro-Israel Democrats in her state, outgoing Senator Ben Cardin and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and the endorsement of Democratic Majority for Israel, a pro-Israel liberal activist group. Cardin previously criticized Hogan for politicizing the Israel issue and asserted that Alsobrooks will stand with Israel if elected senator.
“It is my understanding that the University considered the safety of its students in its initial decision. And as I stated then, I agreed with that decision. October 7 is a solemn day. To have it as a day of remembrance, I think, is important. I know too that the right to protest is foundational to our nation and that right must be protected. And it is my hope that given this court’s decision, any such protests will be conducted peacefully,” Alsobrooks told Jewish Insider about the University of Maryland event.
Maryland’s other senator, Democrat Chris Van Hollen, has repeatedly criticized Israel’s military campaign against Hamas and declined to attend Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to congress earlier this year. Van Hollen is backing Alsobrooks’s campaign, although she has distanced herself from his anti-Israel positions. Hogan acknowledged his differences with Van Hollen on Israel, but promised to work with him on other issue areas if elected to the Senate.