Hogan steps out as 'pro-choice' and says he would vote to codify Roe v Wade

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who just won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, described himself a "pro-choice" candidate when it comes to abortion on Thursday, and said he would vote on a bipartisan motion to codify Roe v. Wade.

Hogan, who served two terms as a Republican governor of a Democratic state, previously vetoed a law that would expand abortion access in Maryland in 2022, according to NBC, but it was overridden by the state's legislature. The new comments are the strongest he's made on the issue since announcing his bid for the upper chamber.

The former governor said voters could trust him to protect their rights to choose an abortion, and also said he supports a measure to codify abortion rights in the Maryland state Constitution this November. 

“I support restoring Roe as the law of the land,” Hogan told the New York Times. “I’ll continue to protect the rights of women to make their own reproductive choices just like I did as governor for eight years. I think Marylanders know and trust that when I give them my word, I’m going to keep it, and I’ve protected these rights before. I’ll do it again in the Senate by supporting a bipartisan compromise to restore Roe as the law of the land.”

Hogan previously penned an op-ed in the Washington Post last February, where he claimed he does not "fit neatly into one box," when it comes to abortion. 

Hogan's Democratic challenger Angela Alsobrooks, who is also pro-choice, rejected Hogan's characterization of himself and claimed that he would not really support abortion if he wins the Senate, 

“He will not support a national law to protect abortion rights. He will not oppose anti-choice judges, including nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, even in the wake of the reversal of Roe vs. Wade,” Alsobrooks told the Baltimore Banner. “And given these positions, it isn’t all that surprising that Larry Hogan called abortion rights issues an emotional issue for women.”

Alsobrooks and Hogan won their respective primaries on Tuesday, and will face a close election in November, which could prove crucial to the Republican Party's hope to flip the upper chamber. Republicans are currently the minority in the Senate, but hold the majority in the House.