Exclusive — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican and vocal critic of Donald Trump, is seeking to retake a Democratic-held Senate seat but appears to have the former president’s support.
“I want to see him win. I think he has a chance to win. I want to see him win. And we’ve got to get a majority,” Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Thursday about the Maryland Senate race, one of a handful that could determine whether Republicans can retake the Senate.
Hogan, a popular former two-term governor, is running against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who serves as county commissioner for Prince George’s County, Maryland, to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.
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Former two-term Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan celebrates his victory in the 2024 Maryland Republican Senate Primary on May 14, 2024 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
The former Maryland governor, who has said he will not vote for Trump in November’s presidential election, has set himself apart from many other Republicans by publicly calling for the former president’s criminal trial conviction late last month to be respected.
Before Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former and current president in American history, Hogan wrote on social media, “Whatever the outcome, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in history, all leaders, regardless of party, must not add fuel to the fire with further poisonous partisanship.”
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“We must reaffirm the rule of law that has made this country great.”
Minutes later, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign and a veteran Republican consultant, responded to Hogan’s social media post, writing, “You just finished campaigning.”
As Trump was leaving the Capitol after meeting with Republican lawmakers on Thursday, he was asked by Fox News whether he would support Hogan.
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“We have to rebuild our country. So I would like to see him when he becomes the person who can win. I would like to see that. I know others have made strong statements, but from my standpoint, I am committed to my party and my country. So I would like to see him win,” the former president said.
Former President Donald Trump, who is considered a possible Republican presidential nominee, speaks to reporters at the National Republican Senatorial Committee in Washington, Thursday, June 13, 2024, flanked by, from left, Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.). (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Asked if he would support Hogan, Trump said, “Nobody’s asked me that, but basically I would support him, yeah.”
Asked to respond to the former president’s comments, Mike Ricci, a senior adviser to the Hogan campaign, told Fox News, “Governor Hogan is very clear that he does not support Donald Trump, just as he did in 2016 and 2020.”
Fox News’ James Levinson contributed to this report.
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