As a lifelong Democrat, I long took solace in the belief that I supported the more honorable of the two major parties. However, the negativity, divisiveness and distortions propagated by Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign is the type of behavior I had only attributed to MAGA Republicans. The tactics seem beneath the ideals we claim as Democrats. “When they go low, we go high.” Apparently not in Maryland, where Alsobrooks has focused her Senate campaign on scaring Marylanders with three misinformative and polarizing messages. Watching the behavior of the Alsobrooks campaign is the first time I’ve had to fundamentally question who we are as Democrats.

The first untruth is that Alsobrooks’ opponent, former Governor Larry Hogan, is secretly connected to the MAGA movement and his record of standing up to Donald Trump has been a ruse. But Marylanders know that Hogan has always been an outspoken critic of Trump and a steadfast opponent of the MAGA agenda. On January 6, 2021, Hogan sent the Maryland National Guard to the Capitol to defend democracy and support police as they protected lawmakers. He slammed Trump and the go-along-to-get-along wing of his party for encouraging criminal behavior by pushing baseless claims of a stolen election. This decisive action epitomized Hogan’s values. Whatever Alsobrooks says, Hogan’s record, principles and demeanor are the opposite of the MAGA movement.

On reproductive rights, the second Alsobrooks line of attack, the facts are clear, and the misrepresentations from my party are egregious. Hogan took no action whatsoever to limit access to abortion in Maryland. His veto of one measure allowing nurse practitioners to perform a surgical procedure was about patient safety. I think we can all appreciate this, even if we disagree. There was no need to support a rushed expansion of abortion providers because there was no shortage of abortion providers in the state. Hogan kept his word and protected access to abortion in Maryland, fully funding it in the state budget for eight straight years as governor. I am a pro-choice Democrat and have voted in support of reproductive health care my entire life. Nothing Hogan did as governor, including the veto measure cited constantly by the Alsobrooks campaign, offended my deep commitment to that cause. I believe Americans benefit by having Republicans like Hogan support the pro-choice position. I think more seats at the pro-choice table is a good thing and something Democrats should celebrate. I welcome a more bipartisan consensus on choice. The manipulation of this issue is an effort to misguide voters. It seeks to unfairly monopolize for the Alsobrooks campaign what I believe is the correct position and one she holds in common with Hogan. It’s the type of dishonest campaigning I often attribute to Republicans and believed was absent from my Democratic Party. It should be.

Via fundraising emails and texts, Democrats across the country tell me that control of the Senate will be determined by the winner of their race. They can’t all be right, even as I donate to many of their campaigns. Control of the Senate is Alsobrooks’ third line of attack. Her campaign emphatically tells Maryland voters that a Hogan victory in Maryland means MAGA control of the Senate. There are multiple reasons this is disingenuous. There are at least six other races more likely to put Republicans in the majority than anything that might happen in Maryland. So even if Alsobrooks wins, the Republicans will almost certainly control the Senate.

In that reality, a critical swing vote like Hogan will do more to stand up to the MAGA movement, protect democracy and safeguard our liberties than a Democrat who sacrifices her influence by predictably and consistently voting the straight party line. No matter who controls the chamber, Hogan would be a moderating influence in Washington. He would serve as a reasonable and responsible voice in the Republican caucus and stand up to the extremes as he always has. My trust in his judgment, kindness and thoughtfulness means much more to me than the R next to his name. Democrats want governing partners and bipartisanship. Hogan helps get us there.

The actions of the Alsobrooks campaign are reminiscent of the worst parts of American politics. Her supporters have cried foul about ads attacking her for receiving inappropriate tax credits, but the political action committee that funded those ads isn’t on the ballot this November. Alsobrooks is on the ballot, and the dishonesty about Hogan I’ve seen from her campaign convinces me she offers more of the same type of cynical politics. My experience watching Hogan as a governor, and then a candidate for Senate, has been very different and helped me believe something better is possible. I’m a Democrat voting for Larry Hogan because I believe in him and I’m tired of this type of politics.

Colin Pascal (colinjpascal@outlook.com) is a retired lieutenant colonel, registered Democrat and member of the Veterans for Hogan coalition. He lives in Annapolis.