Republican U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan, the former two-term governor, won’t attend next month’s Republican National Convention that will be led by former President Donald Trump, a Hogan political adversary.
“I can definitively tell you Governor Hogan will not be in attendance,” campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernen said in an email response to questions from The Baltimore Sun.
Hogan, who has urged the party to move away from Trump, did not attend GOP conventions in 2016 and 2020. Trump was the party’s standard-bearer at those conventions and is the presumed nominee again during this year’s events to be held July 15-18 in Milwaukee.
For years, Republican and Democratic nominating conventions showcased not only their presidential hopefuls, but also candidates for U.S. Senate, House and other offices.
“Some had speaking roles or introduction appearances on the platform. Others were there to fundraise, since loads of big donors are there as VIPs,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Those appearances by congressional candidates, governors and others still occur. But since the emergence of Trump — a polarizing figure — in 2016, Republicans running in blue states such as Maryland may get more political mileage by not attending.
Since Democrats hold a more than 2-1 voter registration advantage in the state, Hogan must capture a significant number of Democrats and unaffiliated voters to defeat Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. While Trump maintains support in pockets of the state, such as the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland, he got just 32% of Maryland’s vote in losing to Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020, who won all of the state’s 10 electoral votes.
Hogan’s brand has long been distinct from the Republican Party. He actively opposes Trump and portrays himself as a solutions-oriented anti-politician.
“It makes absolutely no sense for Hogan to go to Milwaukee,” Sabato said. “There would probably be unfortunate incidents or catcalls — the Trump base is known to do that to those who have offended their leader.”
The Hogan campaign did not make him or others available for interviews about the convention.
The Hogan-Trump division widened last week when a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Ahead of the verdict, Hogan said on social media: “Regardless of the results, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process.”
Trump and many of his supporters have called the New York-based trial “rigged.”
Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump defended her father-in-law on CNN on Sunday and declined to say whether the party will back Hogan’s campaign.
“I’ll get back to you on all the specifics monetarily, but what I can tell you as the RNC co-chair, I think he [Hogan] should have never said something like that,” Lara Trump said. “He doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican party at this point.”
The RNC and the Trump campaign did not return messages Monday seeking further comment.
If Hogan did attend the convention, he would need to answer for his post about Trump’s trial, Trump supporter Kim Klacik said Monday in an interview. She is a Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District held by retiring Democratic Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.
“Larry Hogan should definitely attend. I believe many Republicans have a few questions for him after his post about the Trump verdict. Hopefully, he can answer them in person,” Klacik said.
She is facing Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, in the district, which covers parts of Baltimore and Carroll counties, and a small part of Baltimore City.
Klacik spoke during the Republican convention in 2020, when she was defeated by Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume in the Baltimore-based 7th Congressional District. She said she it is uncertain whether she will attend the convention this year.
Dozens of delegates — including elected officials and members of county GOP committees — were elected by voters during the May 14 primary, while others have been appointed by the state party.
At least four Republican U.S. senators — including Utah’s Mitt Romney, who has been a Trump critic — told The Hill newspaper last month that they did not plan on attending the convention. The others were Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Indiana’s Todd Young and North Carolina’s Thom Tillis.
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