Just hours before the filing deadline, former Gov. Larry Hogan threw his hat into the ring to become Maryland’s next U.S. Senator.
Hogan, a Republican, is vying for Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D) seat, who will retire at the end of this term.
“We desperately need leaders willing to stand up to both parties. Leaders that appreciate that no one of us has all the answers or all the power,” Hogan said in a YouTube video posted Friday announcing his candidacy.
Hogan, 67, served as Maryland governor from 2015 to 2023. He left office with approval ratings in the 70s.
His candidacy poses a serious threat to what is considered a solidly Democratic Senate seat during a time when the margins in the legislative body are razor thin.
Maryland hasn’t had a Republican senator in 37 years, when Sen. Charles Mathias left office in 1987.
Hogan’s candidacy was unexpected to many.
“I wrote a book on him and I was surprised,” said Mileah Kromer, the author of Blue-State Republican: How Larry Hogan Won Where Republicans Lose and Lessons for a Future GOP. “Running a U.S. Senate race is fundamentally different than running for Maryland Governor. However, he is just not an individual who would go into a race that he had no chance of winning, he certainly has some internal polls that show a possibility for him.”
He’s billed himself as a moderate Republican who is an alternative to former President Donald Trump’s style of conservatism.
“Governor Hogan most likely sees himself as a Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), or even a Sen. Joe Manchin (R-W.V.)-type figure in the Senate, an individual who is willing to buck party orthodoxy at times when he thinks is necessary,” Kromer said.
Hogan is, by far, the frontrunner in the Republican primary for the Senate seat. By winning the Republican nomination he could change the landscape of the general election. Prior to Hogan’s surprise announcement, whoever won the Democratic primary was thought to be a shoo-in for the Senate seat. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are considered the top two candidates in the Democratic primary.
Trone released a statement shortly after Hogan’s announcement.
“Larry Hogan’s candidacy is nothing but a desperate attempt to return [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Donald Trump to power and give them the deciding vote to ban abortion nationwide, suppress votes across the country, and give massive tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans,” he wrote.
Polls from last November have Trone defeating a then-speculative candidate Hogan in a general election and Hogan defeating Alsobrooks.
