ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – Former governor of Maryland. Larry Hogana Republican vying to flip a Senate seat that could determine control of the chamber, will once again skip the Republican National Convention as a party leader unsure whether the GOP will help fund his campaign.
Hogan’s campaign confirmed that the former governor will not attend next month’s GOP convention in Milwaukee, July 15-18. Hogan, who was one of the party’s fiercest critics of former President Donald Trump, also did not attend the party conventions in 2020 and 2016.
Hogan, who is trying to navigate a difficult path in a heavily Democratic state, angry party leaders last week when he said the public should “ respect the decision and the legal process »before Trump’s conviction by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts related to secret payments.
“At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders – regardless of party – must not add fuel to the fire with more toxic partisanship,” Hogan posted on X before the verdict was announced. “We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law. »
Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, replied to X: “You just finished your campaign. »
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Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was found guilty on all counts related to an acting scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by falsifying business records to hide secret payments to Stormy Daniels porn , who said the two had sex. The former president called the verdict politically motivated.
On Sunday, Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and the former president’s daughter-in-law, sharply criticized Hogan’s comments, saying on CNN’s State of the Union that Hogan “doesn’t deserve respect from anyone in the world “. the Republican Party at this point.
When asked if the Republican Party would provide resources to support Hogan’s campaign, Lara Trump responded, “Well, I’ll get back to you on all the details financially, but what I can tell you is that ‘As co-chair of the Republican Party, I think he should never have said something like that. I think it’s ridiculous.
In March, the RNC voted to install Trump’s hand-picked leadership team, Including Lara Trump as co-president.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is fully behind Hogan, who may be the GOP’s best recruit for the Senate this election cycle.
The chairman of the committee, Senator. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told The Associated Press on Tuesday that “of course” he plans to support Hogan.
Asked about Lara Trump’s remarks, Daines suggested that Hogan is running a campaign that aligns with his own state’s politics.
“I think it’s important to remember that Larry Hogan is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland, not Mississippi,” Daines said.
Outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday he supports all Republican candidates.
“What I think is we need more Republican members in the Senate,” McConnell said. “And whether you’re Mike Lee or Susan Collins, we need more Republicans to set the agenda. So obviously I support all Republican candidates, and certainly Governor Hogan would be one of them.
The senator from Ohio. JD Vance, when asked about Hogan on Monday, said he thought Hogan’s message was “a huge mistake” and that “when he says things that alienate the majority of Republicans in Congress, I think he’s reasonable to criticize him, but I still hope he wins. »
“The nature of Larry Hogan’s candidacy and if he makes it to the Senate, which he hopes, he will be to the left of the majority of Republicans on almost every issue,” Vance said. “We’re going to criticize him, but I still want him to win.”
Hogan is trying to become the first republican in more than 40 years to win a Senate seat in Maryland, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 ratio statewide, with much of Democratic support in Baltimore and the suburbs of Washington. He’s running against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the chief executive of Prince George’s County, near the nation’s capital.
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed from Washington.