“I will continue to always do what I believe is right for Maryland and for the country, and I’ll be the same strong independent leader for Maryland that I have always been.”
Governor Hogan is delivering the keynote address at the Principles First event, Watergate at 50: Lessons in Protecting Democracy, to discuss his vision for addressing the challenges facing our country and reflect on his father Larry Hogan Sr.’s principled leadership during the Watergate investigation.
Watch here.
As Prepared For Delivery
Thank you very much Health for that kind introduction and I want to thank Principles First for the invitation to join you for this terrific event.
Most importantly, thank you for all that you are doing to build a movement to help return us to American principles at a time when too often they seem to be forgotten. As we engage in that important work, we should remember the challenges that our country has been through before.
As we just saw in that video from 50 years ago, our nation has been through many times of turmoil before. That video really hits home for me. The history of Watergate isn’t just history—it’s personal and it has shaped who I am today.
Fifty years ago, my dad—Larry Hogan Sr.—made that tough decision. He served on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of Richard Nixon. He was a strong Nixon supporter and fought for the president to be treated fairly, but after seeing all the evidence he put aside partisanship and answered the demands of his conscience to do what he thought was the right thing for the nation that he loved. He put aside party politics and his own personal considerations and stepped up to do the right thing for the nation.
“Party loyalty,” he said, “and personal affection and precedents of the past must fall before the arbiter of men’s actions, the law itself. No man—not even the president of the United States—is above the law. For our system of justice and our system of government to survive we must pledge our highest allegiance to the strength of the law and not to the common frailties of man.”
With those words, he became the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. The decision cost him dearly. He lost friends and supporters and his party’s nomination for governor that year. But it earned him something more valuable—a quiet conscience and an honored place in history.
It’s hard to deny the striking parallels between that time and today. However, there seem to be far fewer profiles in courage in Washington. Today, Washington is completely broken because that kind of leadership, that kind of willingness to put country over party has become far too rare.
Like all of you, I’m completely fed up with politics as usual and with politicians who care more about winning their next election than doing the right thing for the nation. From the cable newsrooms to state houses and to the senate cloakroom. For nearly a decade, I have heard from so-called “leaders” who say one thing in private and then something completely different in public. This culture of fear is a plague on our party and our political system that we cannot afford to ignore. I learned a lot about integrity and public service from my dad and I have tried to live by the example he set.
From the moment Donald Trump came down the escalator to today, I have always made it clear exactly where I stand. Unlike many Republicans, I have never wavered based on polls, public attacks, or fear of political retribution—and I never will. I had the honor of serving as governor under three presidents and I worked with each of them to get things done for the people, but I also stood up to them when it was right for Maryland or the nation—regardless of the political consequences.
During COVID, I had the job of leading the nation’s governors—Republicans and Democrats—as Chairman of the National Governors Association. Even when others were afraid to, I pushed back against the President when he said things that were wrong, dangerous, or divisive because it was my job to represent all my colleagues and because it was my most important job to keep Marylanders safe.
On January 6th, when the president was watching the chaos on television, I was the first leader in America to send in the National Guard to protect our nation’s capital and our democracy. That day I received desperate phone calls from top leaders in Congress who were pleading with me as the governor of Maryland for the assistance of the national guard and the Maryland State Police because the Capitol was under assault and the Capitol Police were overwhelmed. The men and women of the Maryland State Police and the Maryland National Guard were the first to arrive in Washington to protect the Capitol. The very next day, I said President Trump should resign and let Vice President Pence lead a peaceful transition of power.
America is once again at a dangerous crossroads. Most Americans are thoroughly convinced that we are hopelessly divided, that Washington is completely dysfunctional, and that our entire political system is fundamentally broken. The voices of the exhausted majority are often ignored in deference to the demands of the loudest and angriest few who seem hell-bent on tearing America apart.
When I left office last January, I was proud of the job our team had done and satisfied with all that we had accomplished. I thought I was done with politics. I was enjoying the private sector and spending more time with my family. I didn’t get into this race for Senate because I needed another title. I certainly wasn’t looking for a job. But I have never been more concerned about our country and I felt that the dangerous lack of political courage and principled leadership in Washington was putting our nation at risk.
The final straw came in February when there was a bipartisan compromise to make progress on securing the border and to provide critical aid to our allies in Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan and Senators who supported the bill voted against it simply because Donald Trump told them to.
America is at a critical tipping point. The nation is literally a tinderbox. The failure of our leaders to put what is right ahead of what is politically expedient is not just wrong—it’s dangerous. And nothing will change unless we elect leaders willing to say “enough is enough” who can be a voice for sanity and change. And none of our problems can be fixed by blind partisanship from either side of the aisle.
We can continue to go down this dark road of extremism, toxic politics, hatred, and violence—or we can recognize that we rise and fall together as one nation. My opponent in this race only wants to spew partisan rhetoric about red versus blue. I think it is time we get back to focusing on the red, white, and blue.
I learned from my dad that one person can actually make a difference. History has proven that again and again. From my dad to John McCain and so many great American leaders, we all have a responsibility to follow in their footsteps and to stand up for what is right.
If I have the privilege of serving in the United States Senate, I will be your strongest ally in this fight to put principles first. I will reach across the aisle to find common ground for the common good—just like I did for eight years as governor. I will never be just one more Capitol Hill politician. I will continue to have the courage to put people over politics and to put country over party. I have proven—over and over—that I’m willing to stand up to the former president, and the current president, and that I’ll stand up to the next president, and to the Democratic party, or the Republican party.
I will continue to always do what I believe is right for Maryland and for the country, and I’ll be the same strong independent leader for Maryland that I have always been. I believe I can be that critical independent swing vote who will be a roadblock to the crazy on both sides in order to finally deliver common sense, bipartisan solutions on the important issues facing our nation.
Look, no one of us has all the answers or all the power. And let’s face it, one party alone can’t fix this mess. John F. Kennedy once said “sometimes party loyalty demands too much.” This is one of those moments. This is an important fight to fix the broken politics in America.
If you are completely fed up with the divisiveness and dysfunction in Washington and you want change then we have to finally do something different. The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. Together we can clean up the mess in Washington.
The Washington partisan politicians win by perpetuating polarization. But Maryland is known as the state of middle temperament. We believe in common decency and common sense. We know that what unites us as Marylanders and as Americans is greater than that which divides us.
This is not just about the differences between the right and the left—this is about the difference between right and wrong. And this isn’t just the typical fight between Democrats and Republicans. It’s more important than that. This is a fight for Maryland and America’s future and that is a fight worth fighting.
Ladies and gentlemen, with your help this November we can send a loud and clear message to all the politicians in Washington that will be heard all across America.
Thank you.
