Hogan spokesman Michael Ricci responded to Trump’s support with a statement: “Governor Hogan has been clear he is not supporting Donald Trump just as he didn’t in 2016 and 2020.”
Hogan’s opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks, and other Democrats were quick to capitalize on a link between the former Maryland governor and Trump, who lost the state by more than 30 percentage points in 2020.
Hogan left office in 2023 with high approval ratings and has long eschewed traditional party-building tasks since taking office. He planned to once again skip the Republican National Convention, and his campaign confirmed Thursday that he doesn’t plan to attend the Maryland Republican Party’s annual fundraiser, where Trump ally Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is the keynote speaker.
When asked in the same Fox interview with Aishah Hasnie about Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), Trump said he “could consider” making Youngkin his running mate — though it was in breezy comments that he contradicted with a teasing claim that his pick was one of the House or Senate members he’d met with earlier in the day in Washington.
Youngkin — who is not among the eight people Trump’s team is known to be vetting — did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the former president’s remarks, which came a day after the two had their first face-to-face meeting at Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia.
As Maryland’s popular GOP governor, Hogan antagonized Trump for years during the coronavirus pandemic and provoked a new round of ire within Trumpworld for calling on the public to “respect the verdict” in Trump’s hush money case.
Chris LaCivita, the senior Trump strategist who declared on social media that Hogan “ended his campaign” with that comment, said Thursday that he, too, would prefer if Hogan wins the Senate seat. “We clearly would rather have Larry Hogan in the U.S. Senate representing Maryland than a Democrat.”
As for whether Hogan accepts Trump’s support, LaCivita said, “Donald Trump was in D.C. talking about a unified Republican Party. Period.” Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, declared this month that Hogan “doesn’t deserve the respect” of any Republican and raised the possibility the RNC wouldn’t help bankroll the Senate race.
Yet other key Republican leaders who recruited Hogan to the race stuck with him regardless, including the National Republican Senatorial Campaign’s committee chair, Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Amanda Sherman Baity responded with the party’s new line of attack against Hogan: “Donald Trump wants Republican Larry Hogan in the Senate.”
The Maryland Democratic Party promptly sought to raise cash off Trump’s comments. “Donald Trump wants Larry Hogan because Trump knows Hogan would be the deciding vote to put Republicans in charge of the US Senate. It could not be more clear what is at stake,” a fundraising solicitation said. “With this endorsement, we know Trump is going to flood resources into the state to support his chosen candidate.”
Trump’s backing of Hogan helped sharpen Democrats’ line of attacks against the two-term former governor. They argue to voters in the deeply Democratic state that they may have liked him in the state House, but he would empower Republicans in the U.S. Senate to enact Trump’s agenda or thwart a second term for President Biden.
“The stakes of this race could not get any higher,” Alsobrooks said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Just last week, Senate Republicans shot down access to contraception. Hours ago, Senate Republicans voted against protecting IVF. And just now, Donald Trump endorsed Larry Hogan so he can have a Republican majority.”
By early Thursday evening, Alsobrooks’s campaign was invoking Trump’s support for Hogan in a fundraising plea, writing that the former president’s “endorsement proves that the GOP is really going all-in to win Maryland’s open seat and flip the Senate red.”
“We’re likely about to see a flood of MAGA dark money, the likes of which our state has never seen, and we need to be ready to respond,” the campaign wrote.
Hogan has gone to lengths to distance himself from Trump and some mainstream Republican orthodoxy since he won his May 14 primary. He declared himself “pro-choice” for the first time and released an ad statewide claiming that Republicans couldn’t count on his vote in the Senate. He put $1 million behind an ad campaign to broadcast both those messages.
In the purple state next door, Youngkin has walked a tightrope with Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 percentage points in 2020 but has been tied with Biden in the Old Dominion in two recent polls. Youngkin embraced Trump in 2021 as he sought the GOP nomination but kept him at arm’s length as he courted moderate swing voters during the general election. Youngkin did not endorse Trump until March, one day after the former president easily won Virginia’s GOP presidential primary. Trump, who had endorsed Youngkin, has complained at times that the governor has not given him enough credit for the win.
“Do you like him for VP?” Hasnie asked Trump about Youngkin on Thursday.
“He’s great,” Trump replied. “And I think I could consider that. Yes. I haven’t, I haven’t been asked that question, but he would be on that list. He’s very good. We had a great meeting.”
But asked in the same interview if his pick was in the room with him Thursday, when he met with members of Congress, Trump responded: “Probably. Yeah. Probably.”
Tensions mounted in the first two years of Youngkin’s term, as the governor mulled a presidential bid, leading Trump to mock him on Truth Social in November 2022. “Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me…,” Trump posted.
Trump and Youngkin met for more than an hour early Wednesday evening at the golf resort, in an upper floor with a sweeping view of a waterfall and the course, according to two people familiar with the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations. Also present at the meeting were LaCivita, Youngkin political adviser Matthew Moran and Jeff Goettman, the governor’s chief of staff.
They spoke about energy and other issues facing the country and the commonwealth, and discussed polls showing a tight race in Virginia, including polling data that Youngkin presented to Trump. Youngkin shared some tactical ideas for running in the purple state and discussed themes that he thought could play well for the former president in the state, including parental rights in education.
There was no discussion of the vice presidency or any Cabinet position for the term-limited governor, who is due to leave office in January 2026.
Vozzella reported from Richmond. Lateshia Beachum contributed to this report.
Elaine Hadley is a dedicated journalist covering the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. news. With a keen interest in politics and a commitment to uncovering the truth, she provides insightful commentary and in-depth analysis on domestic issues. When not reporting, Elaine enjoys exploring the diverse cultures and landscapes of the United States.
