TRUMP WANTS HOGAN TO WIN: Former President Donald Trump told Fox News that he is endorsing former governor Larry Hogan for Senate. “Yeah I’d like to see him win. I think he has a good chance to win,” Trump said. “I would like to see him win and we got to take the majority. We have to straighten out our country so I’d like to see him win. He’s somebody who can win. I know other people made some strong statements but I can just say from my standpoint, I’m about the party and I’m about the country.” Hogan’s team responded saying, “Governor Hogan has been clear he is not supporting President Trump, just as he didn’t in 2016 and 2020.” Colleen Johnson/WBFF Fox 45
- It’s unclear whether his surprise statements will help or hurt Hogan, who has long been a political adversary. Hogan is running for the Senate against Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. He has been a persistent Trump critic,and has actively distanced himself from the former president in a blue state in which Trump is widely unpopular. Trump is hoping a Hogan victory could secure Republican control of the Senate, now narrowly held by Democrats. The Maryland Democratic Party quickly released a statement saying “Donald Trump endorsed Larry Hogan because he wants a Senate majority that’s beholden to Trump.” Jeff Barker/Baltimore Sun
MOORE, BROWN HAIL SCOTUS RULING ON ABORTION DRUG: Gov. Wes Moore declared Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to continue to allow access to mifepristone, a contested drug approved to provide medication abortions, “a win” for reproductive justice. “Let me be clear: reproductive freedom is non-negotiable,” Moore, a Democrat, said in a statement. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a lawsuit in 2023 challenging the restrictions on mifepristone. Hannah Gaskill/Baltimore Sun
ALSOBROOKS ON THE ECONOMY: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks’ annual “State of the Economy” address was an opportunity for the county executive, on a big stage, to spotlight her record, tout her accomplishments and put it all in the context of her statewide pitch to voters.The event even drew a “prebuttal” of sorts from her Republican opponent, former Gov. Larry Hogan, who suggested that Alsobrooks’ priorities would lead to higher taxes and a more sluggish economy. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters
RECORD OYSTERS FROM AQUACULTURE: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that the state’s growing shellfish aquaculture operations yielded a record 94,286 bushels of oysters in 2023. “Though the shellfish aquaculture harvest is small in comparison to the public fishery, it is growing steadily and the farmer’s product is available throughout the year,” said Brian R. Callam, director of DNR’s Aquaculture and Industry Enhancement Division. Aliza Worthington/Baltimore Fishbowl
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DOCS VOTE FOR UNION: A group of more than 600 doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center voted to form a union, according to a preliminary vote tally. The tallied vote came in Thursday night as 628 voting for and 19 against. Cody Boteler and Clara Longo de Freitas/Baltimore Banner
SEN. FETTERMAN WAS SPEEDING, POLICE SAY: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was seen driving at a “high rate of speed” on Sunday morning just before he rear-ended another car on Interstate 70 in Maryland, according to a state police report. The police report said Fetterman was at fault in the crash. AP/WTOP RADIO
OLSZEWSKI VETOES SCHOOL CROWDING BILL: The fate of a controversial bill that aims to reduce school overcrowding in Baltimore County remains up in the air after County Executive Johnny Olszewski vetoed the measure Thursday morning. County council members approved the update to the Adequate Public Funding Ordinance last Monday with a 4-2 vote. But Olszewski said that the current version of the bill wouldn’t reduce school populations — it would instead create more problems. Bri Hatch/WYPR
SEN. LOVE SWORN IN: The Maryland Senate is back to a full 47 members following the swearing-in Thursday of Sara Love (D-Montgomery).The swearing-in ceremony in Annapolis came after Gov. Wes Moore approved the June 3 nomination of Love by the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee to fill the District 16 vacancy created by the departure of Sen. Ariana B. Kelly, who resigned earlier this year to lead the Maryland Commission for Women. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters
