Maryland Governor Larry Hogan officially put to rest the rumor he would be running for United States Senate. He told reports he has no interest in the job.
“I will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate,” Hogan said at a press conference. The Maryland Governor went on to say “I don’t aspire to be a United States Senator and that fact has not changed.”
Some well-known national Republicans were holding out hope that they would be able to take a seat from the Democratic party and give it to Hogan who is a popular Republican in the Democratic state.
Hogan said he spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, other Senate Republicans, and incumbent Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen “to let him know that he can rest easy and get a good night’s sleep tonight.” Hogan told reporters that he believes he would have won the race if he entered, but didn’t have the desire to serve as a Senator.
Governor Hogan went on to say in the press conference “Just because you can win a race doesn’t mean that’s the job you should do if your heart’s not in it,”
Governor Hogan told Maryland residents he would be serving out the rest of his term that ends in 2023. Since Hogan is term-limited he has endorsed current Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz to be his replacement. While former President Trump has endorsed Delegate Dan Cox. “I really want to focus the next 11 to 12 months on finishing this job,” he said. “I’ll have plenty of time to think about what the future holds. I think the world is going to be a different place a year from now.”
In the press conference, a possible 2024 presidential bid was not ruled out for the Governor’s future. If he did decide to run for President he would get in the former President’s crosshairs along the way. Former President Trump and Governor Hogan have disagreed on several topics publicly through the years.
On Tuesday, Hogan told reporters that he will not make his decision to run for president based on whether or not Trump decides to run for the White House again. “It would be based on whether I think that I can make a difference and whether it’s the right decision for me and my family,” Governor Hogan said. “I wouldn’t care whether the former president runs or not.”
Maryland Governor is the second moderate Republican governor to pass on a Senate bid for 2022.
In November, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu decided to seek reelection rather than running for the Senate, citing a lack of desire to go to the Senate after making decisions daily as a governor that “really impact people’s lives.” “You don’t get to do any of that in the Senate,” Sununu said. “You debate and talk. Nothing gets done. And as I said, sometimes that’s considered a win, doing nothing. That’s not the world I live in.”
Maryland residents will go to the polls on June 28th to decide on the primaries to ultimately decide on a new Governor. Senator Chris Van Hollen is also up for re-election this year voters will decide to send him through the primaries or pick a new Senator for the Democratic party.
