Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan Surrenders, Will Not Challenge Trump in 2020

Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan is ending all speculation by announcing that he will not challenge President Trump in 2020. 

“I’m not going to be a candidate for president in 2020,” Hogan said in an interview, according to the Washington Post.

Trump’s GOP critics put stock in the possibility of Hogan’s candidacy. Hogan admitted that Trump’s rising popularity with the Republican base would be challenging. Trump is currently enjoying his highest approval rating, 48 percent, in two years. Additionally, the majority of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, with many describing the overall economy as “strong” or “very strong.”

Despite those factors, Hogan attributed the decision to his unending loyalty to the people of his state.

“I have a commitment to the six million people of Maryland and a lot of work to do, things we haven’t completed,” Hogan said. According to the Washington Post:

Another factor he cited was his ongoing role at the National Governors Association, a bipartisan group of the nation’s governors, which he will begin to chair in July.

Despite bowing out of the 2020 discussion, Hogan said he is not retreating from national the political scene and will continue to engage in the debates that are raging in the Republican Party over its future.

“We need to have a bigger tent and find a way to get things done,” Hogan said. “We need some civility and bipartisanship. Our politics are broken. Washington is broken. But we have a story to tell.”

In April, Hogan said Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report “did not completely exonerate the president.”

“It certainly did not completely exonerate the president, as he has said. There were some very disturbing stuff found in the report. And just because aides did not follow his orders, that’s the only reason we don’t have obstruction of justice,” Hogan told reporters after a “Politics and Eggs” event in New Hampshire.

“There was some really unsavory stuff in the report that did not make me proud of the president and there was certainly nothing to crow about and nothing to celebrate in that at all,” Hogan continued.

Hogan is expected to launch an advocacy organization, An America United, this week. Even so, he claims it’s not a hint of an independent run.

“No, no, no — it’s not,” Hogan said. “It’s not about a third party run or anything like that. I’m not hedging my bets.”