Who is clamoring for Larry Hogan to run for president?
Zachary Faria
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For whatever reason, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan thinks that the 2022 midterm results have Republicans clamoring for him to run for president in 2024.
Hogan told CBS that the midterm results have pushed him closer to running for president. That seems unlikely, given that he has been floating himself as a presidential candidate for some time now, and nobody seems to be floating back.
“I think there is a battle for which direction the Republican Party will go,” Hogan said. “My side of the party had a really good night. Trump’s side did not.” He also added, “That battle is not over, and it’s going to go on for a long time.”
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That is all well and good, but that battle is not going to be led by Larry Hogan. Hogan said that people within the GOP were calling him “all night” to say he had a good night, but outside of the consultant class, who is clamoring for a President Larry Hogan in the Republican Party right now?
GOP voters are not going to nominate a liberal Republican to run for president, nor should they. Perhaps Hogan thinks that the GOP’s underperformance can be blamed on the issue of abortion and that not being pro-life would be an advantage, but he would be wrong. All the data indicate that it wasn’t really abortion that saved Democrats; it was terrible Republican candidates who were, as Hogan noted, pushed by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans have real conservative alternatives to Trump already, if voters decide they actually want to win the White House in 2024. The obvious selection would be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who just blew the Florida Democratic Party to smithereens and resoundingly removed Florida from the swing-state category.
Even if, for some bizarre reason, DeSantis decided not to run, there are plenty of quality conservative candidates whom the GOP could turn to. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley would all be good candidates who have shown interest in running or been floated as possible candidates. All are rock-ribbed conservatives.
Hogan wouldn’t even be the best option if you wanted a blue-state Republican. That would be Rep. Lee Zeldin (R), who fell just short of pulling a massive upset in the New York governor’s race but dragged several House GOP candidates over the finish line. Depending on the outcome of a few seats, Zeldin and DeSantis may ultimately prove responsible for Republicans retaking the House.
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All Hogan could do by running is help Trump by peeling off “anti-Trump” primary voters from candidates who could actually defeat him for the nomination. Hogan was a good Republican governor in Maryland, but he is never going to be the Republican nominee for president. If he wants to beat Trump, he should put an end to the fantasy that he could actually win the nomination.