Larry Hogan makes stopping school shootings top issue in high-stakes Senate race

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he will fight for a federal law requiring armed officers in every high school if elected to the Senate.

The Republican wants national legislation similar to what he did for Maryland six years ago as governor. He’s also drawing a contrast with his Democratic opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

Mr. Hogan pointed to the county’s decision in 2021 to reduce the ranks of officers with arresting powers — known as school security personnel — from its schools. He says the move only invited more fights and violence.

Locked in a tough battle for the Senate, Mr. Hogan is contrasting the county’s move with his 2018 legislation to ensure a police presence in schools.

“There is nothing more important than keeping our children safe. That’s why I pushed and signed into law the Safe to Learn Act, which included a requirement and funding to have armed school resource officers in every single high school in the state. Sadly, my opponent is removing security from the schools in Prince George’s County,” Mr. Hogan said.

“In the Senate, I’ll work to pass components of my Safe to Learn act at the federal level so students across America will be protected,” Mr. Hogan said.

He is leaning into the school safety issue after another horrific school shooting, this time in Georgia, claimed the lives of two teachers and two students. Last week, a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in a school bathroom in Harford County, Maryland. A 16-year-old boy from the school is charged with first-degree murder.

Recent polls show Mr. Hogan tied with Ms. Alsobrooks or trailing her by low single digits.

The race is one of the more intriguing Senate matchups in the country. Maryland is a deep-blue state, yet Mr. Hogan served two terms as a popular Republican governor who pushed back against former President Donald Trump. He is positioning himself as a bipartisan problem-solver.

Maryland Democrats say Mr. Hogan may be popular but voters should not elect a Republican because it would spoil the Democrat’s razor-thin majority in the Senate — potentially ruining the party’s ability to pass legislation and approve or reject Cabinet and judicial nominees.

Ms. Alsobrooks became county executive in 2019, making her the first woman to hold the office and the first Black woman elected as a county executive in Maryland history.

In March 2021, Ms. Alsobrooks announced she was implementing school changes drafted by the Police Reform Work Group, “including the recommendation to invest in mental health programs and restorative approaches to student discipline.”

Discussions about recalibrating the police presence in education settings — some called it a school-to-prison pipeline — were sparked in part by the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

The county started reducing the number of officers with arresting powers in early 2021 while increasing mental health and social services. It kept a separate group of officers, known as school resource officers (SROs) in place because of their popularity with parents and the need to comply with the 2018 Maryland law. Some county legislators pushed to get rid of SROs altogether.

“Since Angela Alsobrooks became county executive in 2019, she has made sure Prince George’s County public schools operated in accordance with Governor Hogan’s standards set forth in the Safe to Learn Act,” said Jackie Bush, the deputy Alsobrooks campaign communications director. “She has always opposed, and successfully resisted, efforts to remove officers from Prince George’s County public schools.”

The Hogan campaign said it wasn’t accusing Ms. Alsobrooks of violating the law.

Instead, it highlighted the decision to remove dozens of school security personnel from schools — and media reports in subsequent years of violence in Prince George’s County schools.

The campaign pointed to new stories in 2023 about a student who was charged with bringing a gun to Flowers High School in the county and reports of 10 fights in a single day at another high school. Also in recent years, parents were shocked to discover online videos of fights inside classrooms.

The Alsobrooks campaign countered that there are Democratic proposals that could keep schools safe.

“Angela continues to believe that to keep our schools safe it is critical we pass a national assault weapons ban and get ghost guns off our streets,” Ms. Bush said.