A non-profit group backing Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is launching a new ad campaign targeting Maryland Democrats for their attempts at “extreme” gerrymandering ahead of the 2022 midterms.
An America United, a non-profit advocacy organization supportive of Hogan, shared its new ad with the Daily Caller ahead of a special session in the Maryland legislature on the topic of redistricting. Both the governor and the legislature have submitted new Congressional maps for consideration; Hogan’s received an “A” grade for fairness from experts at Princeton University, while Democrats’ maps received “F” grades.
The ad claims that Maryland’s gerrymandering is already ranked the worst in the nation, and argues that Democrats are trying to make the maps “even more extreme and radical.” It features a clip of former Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley admitting during a deposition he drew maps that were favorable to Democrats, and another clip of former President Barack Obama calling gerrymandering a “sneaky way for politicians to consolidate as much power as they can,” with a message that Democrats should listen to their own leaders.
In the ad, Hogan says he wants to “make sure the people of Maryland are the ones drawing these lines, not the politicians or the party bosses.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Larry Hogan-Aligned Group Launches New ‘Refund Police’ Ad Campaign Against Democrat Pushback)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday it’s suing the state of Texas for allegedly diluting the votes of black and Hispanic residents with its new Congressional maps. The DOJ has also sued Texas over its new voting law, and has taken action on voting rights in Arizona and Florida, but the Biden administration has given no indication it plans to crack down on gerrymandering in blue states like Maryland.
A number of Maryland and national Democrats have come out against partisan gerrymandering, and yet the maps advanced to the legislature by Democrats for 2022 would create an 8-0 advantage in districts for their party in a state where the Republican governor has one of the highest approval ratings in America.
Democratic Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin helped introduce the For The People Act, which seeks to end partisan gerrymandering. Democratic Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger, Jamie Raskin and Steny Hoyer are among the other Maryland lawmakers who have called out partisan gerrymandering despite it being a massive problem in their home state.