Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate creates the potential for a high-stakes race the state hasn’t experienced in decades.
It was 50 years ago that Democrat Barbara Mikulski lost to the last Republican U.S. Senator to serve in Maryland, Charles Mathias.
Mathias retired in 1987 and Mikulski, who first served in the House, was then elected to the Senate.
When Mikulski retired, then-Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a longtime Democratic House member, was largely favored to defeat Republican state lawmaker Kathy Szeliga in the 2016 Senate race.
Van Hollen won easily, beating her by 25 percentage points.
But Hogan is a powerful Republican political force in a state that’s long been blue and could make things very interesting.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Mitchell Miller over at WTOP