Think tank suggests Hogan could be strong challenger to Trump
The president of a Washington think tank said he’s been pushing Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for weeks to explore a Republican Party primary challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020.
Jerry Taylor, the founder of the Niskanen Center in Washington, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that he’s been trying to persuade Hogan to run — and the governor hasn’t turned him down.
“The increasing interest on Governor Hogan’s part in what’s going on in Washington, D.C., is encouraging,” said Taylor, a former senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. “It’s clear to me he’s been thinking about it more than in the past. But he hasn’t made any decision yet.”
A day after his second inauguration as governor, Hogan said he intended to finish his four-year term.
“That is certainly the plan at this point, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Hogan said Thursday.
After taking the oath of office Wednesday, Hogan used his inaugural address to urge a different direction for the GOP. While he did not mention Trump by name, Hogan denounced the state of American politics in Washington, where the federal government is partially shut down over Trump’s demands for a border wall.
Hogan invited former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — who has called Trump a “loser,” “liar” and “whiner” — to introduce him Wednesday. Bush told the crowd that Hogan is a model for the rest of the country.
“I think Governor Larry Hogan is the best example in public life today to less coarsen our culture,” said Bush, the son and brother of former presidents.
Hogan is the just the second GOP governor in state history to win re-election and is vice chairman of the National Governors Association.
He said that just because he’s talking more about national politics doesn’t mean he’s going to run for national office.
“The things I said yesterday are nothing new,” Hogan said. “I’ve been saying those same things for at least a decade, about my frustrations with Washington, about civility and about the fact that I think weought to be reaching across the aisle and working together to get things done.”
The governor said the dysfunction in Washington is merely providing a new backdrop for his long-held beliefs.
“In the context of today’s world, maybe it sounded like earth-shattering kinds of things, but you know, a lot of that stuff I said four years ago in my speech, and I’ve said it every time,” Hogan said. “I just got sworn in, 24 hours ago, I think, so I’m going to focus on that for right now and have no further interest at this point in time. I’m not ready to make any announcements today, let’s put it that way.”
Chris Carr, political director for the Trump 2020 campaign, said the incumbent president is ramping up a formidable re-election effort.
“Any potential challenger should understand that the Trump campaign is better organized than any campaign in history, especially with the support of the Republican Party, which is firmly behind this president,” Carr said in a statement.
Political analysts interviewed by The Sun this week theorized that a Hogan primary challenge to Trump would fail — one described it as a “fool’s errand.”
But Taylor predicts the GOP base might begin to leave Trump by 2020 amid a federal investigation into his administration, continued gridlock in Washington and an economy that could take a downward turn.