Larry Hogan won't run for president, but has some advice for the Republicans who do
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said over the weekend that he won't seek the Republican presidential nomination, ending a lengthy period of consideration and the hopes of those who had wanted the moderate — and vocal critic of former President Donald Trump — to throw his hat in the ring.
Hogan knows a thing or two about reaching across the aisle, as just the second Republican governor to win reelection in Maryland (where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin). He finished his second term in January.
Some moderate Republicans had hoped Hogan would challenge Trump in 2020 as well as 2024, a decision that he ultimately decided against in both cycles.
Announcing his decision in a Sunday New York Times op-ed, Hogan said he cared more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing his own future within it. And, expressing his concerns about the upcoming election, he urged his GOP colleagues to "move on" from Trump and work towards a "common-sense conservative vision."
Trump faces three Republican challengers so far: his former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson.
More are expected to enter the primary field in the coming months, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump rival who has gained national prominence by waging a culture war against ideas and policies he considers "woke."
Hogan thinks that approach may help DeSantis win a divided primary, but doesn't see it as a path to the White House. And, he tells NPR, his own story is proof of that.
"I'm the complete opposite of that style," he says. "I won in the bluest state in America and was only the second Republican reelected in the entire 248-year history of our state, and I ran 45 points ahead of Donald Trump by winning over swing voters and independents and suburban women and Black voters and Asians and Hispanics."
Hogan spoke with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep about his concerns about the state of his party and what he'd like to see it do differently in the upcoming election.
"If the Republican Party wants to get back to winning again, so that they can govern, then they're going to have to have a message that appeals to a wider group of people," Hogan says. "And I think kind of doubling down on the rhetoric just to appeal to the base may backfire in a general election."
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Interview highlights
On the issues he'd like to see Republicans prioritize
One of the things that I was concerned about was that the party was focusing on things that were not what the average person was focusing [on]. That's why we have continually been losing elections of late. It should have been a big election year ... last year; we lost races all across the country. Everybody who was ... talking about the stolen election or the virus as being fake, or talking about Jan. 6 and not talking about things like the economy and crime and education, most of them all lost.
And the people who won were common-sense conservative Republicans, or more traditional Republicans, that were focused on pocketbook issues and the things that the average person wanted to hear about.
On whether he thinks the GOP has abandoned the idea of limited government
I did an op-ed in the New York Times a couple of days ago saying that I was dropping out of the race and I wanted to see the Republican Party return to a more traditional Republican Party, which was all about smaller government, but that's not what we're seeing from a lot of the other folks that are out there. There's a big focus on social issues and in some cases on the government getting more aggressive.
On Republicans' focus on social issues and promoting traditional values
That's certainly what some of the right in the Republican Party are talking about and it seems to be playing with a certain segment of the primary base. Now I'm not sure whether it's a winning message for a nominee or for a general election, but it is playing well at this point in time for certain groups ...
... No question, these things get a lot of attention on conservative media and that's why you have some people talking about them nonstop.
The audio interview was edited by John Helton and HJ Mai.
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now, yesterday on this program, commentator Jonah Goldberg told us what a lot of Republicans are thinking. They would like to use government power to impose their idea of traditional values. And they justify this by saying that the left will use that power if they do not. So how does Larry Hogan see all of this? He is a Republican who won in a blue state, serving two terms as governor of Maryland. But he said last weekend he will not run for president in 2024. Governor, welcome to the program.
LARRY HOGAN: Thank you, Steve. Good morning.
INSKEEP: Has the Republican Party abandoned the idea of limited government?
HOGAN: Well, you know, that's - I did an op-ed in The New York Times a couple of days ago saying that I was dropping out of the race and that I wanted to see the Republican Party return to a more traditional Republican Party, which was all about, you know, smaller government. And - but that's not what we're seeing from a lot of the other folks that are out there. There's a big focus on social issues and, in some cases, the government getting more aggressive.
INSKEEP: And am I phrasing it correctly, the way that you see it, that people believe that they are going to use government power to impose traditional values?
HOGAN: Well, I mean, that's certainly what some of the people on the right in the Republican Party are talking about. And it seems to be playing with a certain segment of the primary base. Now, I'm not sure whether it's a winning message for a nominee or for a general election. But it is playing well at this point in time with certain groups.
INSKEEP: Oh, well, let's talk about that. There's the Republican base, as they say. And there's the general election crowd. But let's talk first about the Republican base or even the majority in some red states. We just heard what's going on in Florida. One of the proposals is to ban DEI programs - diversity, equity and inclusion. As a layman, I understand stopping a DEI program if you establish that they're doing something wrong. But from this distance, the bill would seem to ban doing DEI at all. Do that many of your fellow Republicans really think there should just be no effort at diversity at all?
HOGAN: Well, I'm not sure how many people would feel that way. And, you know, I don't know the details of the bill in Florida that you're talking about. I did spend a little time in Tallahassee, but that was back in college. And so...
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
HOGAN: I'm not following the ins and outs of what they're talking about down there. But, you know, one of the things that I was concerned about was that the party was focusing on things that were not what the average person was focusing about. And it's why we have continually been losing elections of late. And it should have been a big election year. And in the race last year, we lost races all across the country.
Everybody who was kind of spouting - you know, talking about the stolen election or the viruses being fake or, you know, talking about January 6 and not talking about things like the economy and crime and education, most of them all lost. And the people who won were commonsense, conservative Republicans or more traditional Republicans that were focused on pocketbook issues and the things that the average person wanted to hear about. But no question - these things, you know, get a lot of attention on conservative media. And that's why you have some people talking about them nonstop.
INSKEEP: Well, there are a lot of Republicans who would like to think that Governor DeSantis is better than Donald Trump, that he would be less divisive in the way that Trump is or less distracting in the way that Trump is, but would be effective in pushing a certain agenda. Do you think he's any better than Trump?
HOGAN: Well, I mean, I think time will tell. At this point in time, he's a - you know, he's a first-term governor that just got reelected. He's out there talking about a lot of things. He's currently not a candidate for president. And we've got a long way to go. It's more than a year until the first primary. So...
INSKEEP: Well, let's just talk about, if I can - forgive me. Let's just talk about...
HOGAN: Yeah.
INSKEEP: ...The DeSantis approach then. If you're going to say, I'm going to make my name...
HOGAN: Yeah.
INSKEEP: ...By focusing on culture war issues, is that a winning way to be a Republican presidential candidate who can win the next general election?
HOGAN: Well, I'm not sure it is. I think it's potentially a way to win a primary that's divided with a lot of folks in it, win a plurality of votes. But I don't think it's a way to win a general election. And, you know, I'm proof of that. I'm the complete opposite of that style. I won in the bluest state in America and was only the second Republican reelected in the entire 248-year history of our state. And I ran 45 points ahead of Donald Trump by winning over swing voters and independents and suburban women and Black voters and Asians and Hispanics. And if the Republican Party wants to get back to winning again so that they can govern, then they're going to have to have a message that appeals to a wider group of people. And I think kind of doubling down on the rhetoric to - you know, just to appeal to the base, you know, may backfire in a general election.
INSKEEP: Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. It's a pleasure talking with you. Thank you for joining us this morning.
HOGAN: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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