‘He doesn’t need them’: Larry Hogan’s Senate run will be independent of Maryland GOP

BALTIMORE — On his newly minted U.S. Senate campaign website, former Gov. Larry Hogan barely utters the word “Republican.”

Not in Democratic-dominated Maryland. Not with a state GOP organization that has had almost no interaction with the former two-term Republican governor in recent years.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was among national Republicans who had recruited Hogan to run for the seat being vacated by the retirement of Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin after next year, according to a McConnell spokesperson. Democrats hold a narrow, 51-49 Senate majority and will be challenged to hold on to the chamber in the November general election.

But the Maryland Republican Party declined to comment specifically about the surprise entry of Hogan on Friday into a race that had been lacking a well-known GOP contender. Hogan is among Maryland Republican stalwarts — conservative commentator and 1986 U.S. Senate candidate Linda Chavez being another — who are estranged from the state party apparatus because party leaders continue to embrace the polarizing figure of former President Donald Trump.

“We respect the process,” Maryland GOP Executive Director Adam Wood said when asked by The Baltimore Sun for comment on Hogan’s candidacy. “As a state political party, we are looking forward to seeing the process play out and working closely with whoever the voters say is the nominee.”

Hogan was not made available for interviews after his video announcement, in which he said he was running “not to serve one party but to try to be part of the solution to fix our nation’s broken politics and fight for Maryland.”

But former Maryland Lt. Gov. and MSNBC commentator Michael Steele, who has served as a state and national Republican chair and is himself distanced from the state party, said in an interview: “I suspect he will largely do this without their support or help. And that’s OK. He doesn’t really need it. He’s got good name ID and brand, and there’s a great deal of residual excitement for him.”

Hogan’s brand has long been distinct from the Republican Party. He actively opposes Trump and portrays himself as a solutions-oriented anti-politician.

That identity was crucial to his 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial victories, in which he needed to win significant support from independents and Democrats. Democrats enjoy a more than 2-1 voter registration advantage in the state.

“One of the realities of our current era is parties are weaker and weaker and matter less and less,” said Todd Eberly, a St. Mary’s College political science professor. “He may be better off without them.”

The primary is May 14.

Hogan will face a Republican field that includes John Teichert, a retired brigadier general in the Air Force who is from Anne Arundel County.

“Marylanders deserve to have a choice and I welcome anyone to the race who wants to offer them one,” Teichert said in a prepared statement after Hogan entered the race Friday.

Also running is Republican Robin Ficker, of Montgomery County, who is a perennial candidate for elected office in Maryland.

The Democratic Senate candidates have raised far more money than their Republican counterparts.

U.S. Rep. David Trone, who is largely self-financed, reported spending $23.4 million as of Dec. 31, and told The Sun in January that he might spend an additional $30 million before the primary. Trone is the co-founder of Total Wine & More.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks raised nearly $1.8 million and spent $726,000 in the final quarter of 2023 to bring her total campaign fundraising to $5 million and spending to $1.8 million since May, according to her Federal Election Commission report.

Alsobrooks’ campaign quickly released a solicitation letter Friday urging potential funders to help her defeat Hogan. “Defending our narrow Senate majority just got a lot tougher, but we know that Angela Alsobrooks is the strongest candidate to take him on,” the appeal said.

While Hogan is getting a late fundraising start, his supporters say he will be able to raise significant amounts outside Maryland, as well as in the state.

Hogan flirted with challenging Trump for the presidential nomination but decided against it. He has remained one of the former president’s most outspoken critics.

“I think you’ll see him doing a tour of a lot of the high-dollar donors nationwide,” said Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee communications director. “His name ID is national.”

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