Governor Hogan’s Primary Election Night Remarks
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Annapolis, MD
May 14, 2024

As Prepared For Delivery

Thank you, Maryland!

What a great crowd here tonight. I want to thank every single one of you! They said the Hogan brand of politics was dead. Well, once again, we proved them wrong!

In 2014, they said it couldn’t be done here in Maryland but with your help we just went out and did it. Pulling off the biggest upset in America. In 2018, we beat the odds once again and I became only the second Republican Governor re-elected in the entire 242 year history of the state.

We have always been an underdog; they have always counted us out. But every single time—together—we have beaten the odds.

Tonight, I want to thank the people of Maryland for their continued support.

I want to congratulate all six of our primary challengers and their campaigns, and it looks like maybe it could be a long night before they decide the other primary but let me also congratulate County Executive Alsobrooks and Congressman Trone and their campaigns.

But tonight, the campaign for Maryland and America’s future begins. With your help we’re going to bring our case for strong, proven, effective, and independent leadership directly to the people of Maryland—all across this state.

Just 95 days ago, we launched this campaign. I wasn’t looking for a new title and I didn’t need a job. But I decided to take on this challenge because I have never been more concerned about the direction of our nation. There are times in history when we desperately need leaders to step up and put the country first.

Fifty years ago, a congressman from Maryland made a tough decision. He became the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Nixon. He put aside party politics and his own personal considerations. He stepped up to do the right thing for Maryland and the nation. That Congressman was my dad—Larry Hogan, Sr. I learned a lot about integrity and public service from him, and I have tried to live by the example he set.

Today, Washington is completely broken because that kind of leadership, that kind of willingness to put country over party has become far too rare. America is at a dangerous, critical 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. Enough is enough.

Like you, I am completely fed-up with politics-as-usual in Washington where the politicians—on both sides—seem to be more interested in attacking each other than in actually getting anything done for the people they represent.

Look, I’m willing to stand up and fight for the things that really matter but not for status-quo politics-as-usual, and not to perpetuate polarization and paralysis. I don’t come from the performative arts school of politics.

I come from the get-to-work and get things done school, and I’ll work with anyone who wants to do the people’s business. Most Marylanders and most Americans prefer straight talk to empty rhetoric and they think it’s time for less talk and more action.

That’s what I did for eight years as your governor, and it’s exactly what I’ll do in the United States Senate.

Here in Maryland, just down the road from our nation’s Capital, we have already proven that there is a better path forward. While Washington ran up the debt and created crushing inflation. We balanced the budget every single year and put people first. We worked across the aisle with our Democratic legislature to cut taxes 8 years in a row by $4.7 billion dollars. We inherited a $5.1 billion dollar deficit and turned it into a $5.5 billion surplus, the largest in state history. I’ll take that exact same approach to the U.S. Senate because the American dream is slipping away for far too many.

Instead of pointing fingers, blaming others, and playing politics, I’ll reach across the aisle and work together to deliver real, common-sense, bipartisan solutions on the important issues that matter—just as I did for eight years as your governor.

I’ll work to make life more affordable for hard-working Marylanders. And continue our fight to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure—starting with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

In the Senate, I’ll continue the work to ensure that every child in America has access to a great education and economic opportunity regardless of what neighborhood they grow up in. I’ll work to secure the border and fix the broken immigration system.

This is National Police Week, and I want to once again express our gratitude to the brave men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line every single day to keep the rest of us safe. Instead of demonizing and sabotaging these dedicated men and women, they deserve the respect and the tools they need to do their jobs.

To reverse the tide of rising violent crime and keep our communities safe, I will continue to fight to get guns out of the hands of criminals and to hold violent offenders accountable, because politics should never come before public safety.

When it comes to the toughest issues facing our nation, the solutions are really not that complicated. There are common sense, bipartisan solutions, but neither side really seems to want to make progress. They’d rather make demands and win arguments on Twitter and these partisan politicians are willing to say and do anything to stop us.

Over the next few months, you are going to hear a lot more of this political B.S. Marylanders will be inundated with scare tactics and false attacks. Don’t let them get away with it, and let me once again set the record straight tonight.

To the women of Maryland, you have my word that I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions just like I did for eight years when I had the honor and privilege to serve as your governor.

To my Democratic and Independent friends, you know me and you know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good. You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican. You know that I have the courage to put people over politics and to put country over party, and you know that I will stand up to the current president, the former president, to the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party.

I will continue to be the same strong independent leader for Maryland that I always have been. 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.

So I’m asking you to join us in this 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 vote for me to send a strong, independent leader who will stand-up and fight to clean up the mess in Washington.

If you are sick and tired of the angry politics and gridlock, and you would rather see common sense bipartisan solutions that work for all the people of Maryland then join our cause.

If you believe that we need to stand up to safeguard the rule of law and to protect our democracy, then join together with us.

If you believe that we desperately need leaders who will stand up to both parties and put the country first, then join our fight.

The Washington 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.

Ladies and gentlemen, 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.

So I’m asking for your vote and your support not to serve one party but to fix the broken politics and to fight for all Marylanders.

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, Maryland!