WTAS: Governor Hogan Continues To Set Example Of Better Politics, Puts Country And Party Before Personal Ambition

On Sunday, Governor Larry Hogan announced he would not seek the Republican Party nomination for President in 2024. In a New York Times op-ed announcing the decision, Governor Hogan said, “the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multi-car pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.”

Here’s what they are saying about Governor Hogan’s leadership:

The New York Times: “Mr. Hogan spent eight years as governor of Maryland, a blue state where he was popular despite his party. In weighing a presidential run, he said on multiple occasions that he thought his record could be an example for the Republican Party, which has moved sharply to the right and has lost or fallen short of expectations in all three election cycles since Mr. Trump was inaugurated.”

**The Wall Street Journal: **“Following disappointing results over the last three national elections, some Republicans have started to look for an alternative candidate to Mr. Trump..”

The Washington Post: “Hogan won election to the Maryland governor’s seat in 2014 in one of the country’s biggest upsets that year, but it was his 2015 cancer diagnosis and decision to openly endure his treatment that endeared him to Maryland residents.

‘Hogan’s always been pragmatic, and he’s always really understood public opinion and what moves voters, better than a lot of politicians,’ said Mileah Kromer, a political science professor at Goucher College who wrote a book about Hogan, ‘Blue-State Republican.’”

**Politico: **Limited to two terms as governor, Hogan left office in January. During his tenure, he consistently had among the highest approval ratings in the nation of any governor, despite being a Republican governing one of the nation’s bluest states.’”

National Review: “Larry Hogan’s 2024 Decision Makes Him a Political Hero… a dignified bowing-out that focuses on the best reasons for his not running…”

**Fox News: **“Asked about going up against affronts from former President Donald Trump, Hogan said, ‘That really didn’t scare me. You’re right, it would be a tough race, and he’s very tough, you know. But I beat life-threatening cancer, so having Trump call me names on Twitter didn’t really scare me off.’”

**CNN: **“Hogan was first elected governor in 2014, comfortably won reelection in 2018 and left office in January with high approval ratings…Hogan faced several challenges throughout his governorship: riots in Baltimore, an unprecedented pandemic and a cancer diagnosis.”

**NPR: **Hogan had never held elected office before and in his first year as governor, he focused on pocketbook issues. He lowered tolls, an action he could take without approval from the General Assembly, long controlled by Democrats. But he was also presented with challenges, including unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in 2015. Hogan sent the National Guard to prevent further rioting.

In June of that year, he was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but continued working while receiving treatment. He has been in remission since November 2015.

In 2018, he became only the second Republican governor in the history of the state to win reelection, defeating former NAACP President Ben Jealous.”

Independent: “Mr Hogan was a very different kind of Republican than Donald Trump, serving eight years over multiple terms as governor of Maryland, even though the state went two-thirds for Joe Biden in 2020.

In his time as governor, Mr Hogan was one of the few high-profile Republicans willing to outwardly criticize Mr Trump, on issues like racism, the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and the president’s woeful handling of the Covid pandemic.”

USA Today: “Hogan told Face the Nation that Trump’s barbs against him – including referring to him as ‘shutdown RINO’ (Republican in Name Only) – had little bearing on his decision.

‘That didn’t really scare me,’ the former governor said. ‘You’re right. It would be a tough race. And he’s very tough. But, you know, I beat life-threatening cancer. So having Trump call me names on Twitter didn’t - didn’t really scare me off.’”

**The Hill: **“Hogan’s name had been thrown around as a possible presidential possibility as his second term was coming to an end. He spent the last few years raising around $6 million as he mulled a White House run, a person familiar with the former governor’s fundraising told The Hill.”

**The Baltimore Banner: **As a Republican governor who remained steadily popular in a Democrat-dominated state for eight years, Hogan thought he had something to offer a country that’s riven by intense partisanship.”

**Daily Caller: **“Hogan was term-limited out of office in 2023 after serving eight years as governor. The moderate left office with a 77% approval rating…”

PBS News Hour: “Hogan wrapped up his second term as governor in January, serving for eight years in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin. He was Maryland’s second Republican governor ever to be reelected.”

**WBOC: **“Many Republicans spoke on Hogan’s decision.

Longtime Hogan ally Chris Christie, the former New Jersey Governor tweeted ‘He’s not running for President but he’s not done leading yet. Thank goodness.’”

**Patch: **Hogan left office last month because of term limits, with poll numbers showing he remained one of the nation’s most popular governors. The moderate Republican received generally positive remarks for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and his push to get Marylanders vaccinated and cut taxes.”