Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican candidate for U.S Senate, sat below a signed portrait of Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and dined on matzo ball soup and pickles Wednesday afternoon at Attman’s Delicatessen in Potomac on his latest campaign stop in Montgomery County as he seeks to fill Cardin’s seat.
Hogan sat with Attman’s owner Marc Attman and other Attman family members and was served a variety of the popular Jewish deli’s specialties after meeting with servers and talking to diners at the Park Potomac Avenue eatery, just one day prior to the start of early voting across the state.
“We’ve done a bunch of stops here in Montgomery County and we thought, let’s stop by the deli, see some of our friends and meet some new folks, some customers,” Hogan told reporters following the meal. He visited the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department earlier this month, and had plans to head to St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring later on Wednesday evening.
Hogan is running against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee, in the Nov. 5 general election to replace Cardin, who is retiring after serving 17 years in the Senate. According to a Washington Post poll released Thursday, Alsobrooks is leading Hogan by 12%. The race is being closely watched across the country as it is among a handful that could decide which party controls the Senate. Alsobrooks visited residents at Riderwood Senior Living in Silver Spring last week.
Marc Attman told MoCo360 he was honored to have Hogan visit the deli and considers him a longtime friend. While Attman is a registered Democrat, he said he plans to vote for Hogan.
“I look at [Hogan] as an independent, I look at him as someone who has an open mind and wants to hear what everyone has to say, and then he decides what he thinks is the best for everyone,” Attman said. “You can see what kind of a friendly person he is.”
Hogan has touted his disregard for former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, as well as his self-proclaimed ability to reach across the aisle, as reasons he could appeal to Democratic voters. However, Hogan has not committed to voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.
“My message has been that I’ll be the kind of person that will stand up to both sides. But [Alsobrooks’] message is just, you have to vote Democrat. Obviously, if people only care about parties, I’ll lose two to one,” Hogan said. “But I think there’s an awful lot of people that actually want to fix the broken politics in Washington.”
Attman is an example of the type of voter who Hogan is courting. Attman said he has voted across party lines several times – he said he voted for Hogan for governor in the past and voted for Gov. Wes Moore (D) in 2022 – and that his wife is a registered Republican. Attman said he focuses on policy rather than party when voting.
“I really think that the way that America is going now, that America doesn’t want it to be blue and red,” Attman said.
Attman noted that while he is a Democrat, he hasn’t decided whether he will vote for Harris, and that his top political issues are “no more war” and “for everyone to be in good health.”
Hogan said he believes he can appeal to Jewish voters like Attman because of his support of Israel, which has been engaged in a war in Gaza against Hamas after an attack on a music festival on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Well, there’s a huge difference between myself and my opponent when it comes to Israel and supporting the Jewish community,” he said, referencing Alsobrooks. “I’ve been a champion for Israel. … [Alsobrooks] wants to defund aid to Israel.”
While Alsobrooks has voiced support for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, she told Washington Jewish Week earlier this month that she also supports continuing to send aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, refuting Hogan’s claim.
Attman sees Hogan’s support of Israel as a key reason why local Jews may choose to vote for him.
“If [Jewish voters] look at just one thing, just the support of Israel, and that’s their main thing, [Hogan’s] got to be their guy,” Attman said. “This is our country. [Israel] is also our country. We love it there, and we want it to be there for a long time.”
As for the best thing Hogan ate at the deli? The candidate couldn’t decide.
“Everything was good. The corned beef sandwich was great, but the matzo ball soup, which is not something I eat every day, was off the hook,” Hogan said. “Even the pickles were really good, and the dessert kugel … there isn’t anything better than that.”
