Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan: Trump ‘pretty weak in the general election’

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who is weighing a primary challenge to President Trump in 2020, believes Trump is particularly vulnerable in the general election.

“The issue I’m concerned about is he has a very low reelect number, I think in the 30s, high 30s, low 40s. So the chance of him losing a general election are pretty good. I’m not saying he couldn’t win but he’s pretty weak in the general election,” he told CBS News in an interview set to air Wednesday. 

{mosads}Hogan expressed concern that the president’s poor approval ratings could weigh on down-ballot Republicans across the country in 2020.

“At some point if he weakens further, Republicans would say we’re concerned about whether or not he’s going to win if we’re going to face a very far-left Democratic nominee, and is he going to take the rest of us down with him if you’re an elected official,” he said.

Hogan, one of the most popular governors in the country and a Republican, easily won reelection in November by double digits in a blue state. The election results spurred Republican critics of the White House to court him to primary Trump in 2020.

However, Hogan admits his popularity is no guarantee that he could successfully unseat Trump atop the Republican presidential ticket next year. 

“I would say, today, it’s unlikely when you look at the numbers. You know he has 70 or 80 percent, some percent of Republican primary voters say they support the president,” he said.

“Today it would be very difficult. Nobody has successfully challenged a sitting president in the same party in a primary since 1884. I know I’m the second Republican in the history of Maryland but I’m not sure, that’s probably about the same odds I guess.”