Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday that he won’t challenge President Trump in the 2020 GOP primary unless he sees a “path to victory.”
“I’m not going to launch some sort of suicide mission, I have a real day job that’s important to me, the people of Maryland, unless I thought there was a path to victory,” Hogan said at the “Politics & Eggs” breakfast at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.
{mosads}“I’m listening, coming to New Hampshire and listening to people is a part of that process. I’ve been to 10 states in the past few months and have 16 more on my schedule … but I’m not at the point where we’re ready.”
Hogan, one of the most popular governors in the country, easily won his reelection in November by double digits despite being a Republican in a blue state. That win spurred Trump critics within the GOP to seek him out as potential primary challenger.
“A lot of people have been approaching me, probably since the time of my inauguration in January … asked me to give this serious consideration and I think I owe it to those people to do just that,” Hogan said Tuesday.
Hogan told reporters after the event that he had spoken with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, another popular GOP governor in a blue state, a “little bit” about the 2020 election on Monday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is the only Republican candidate to formally announce a primary challenge to Trump so far in the 2020 presidential race.
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2016, has also been floated as a potential challenger.
Any challenger would likely face long odds in a primary bid. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has already voted to express its “undivided support” for Trump as its 2020 nominee, and Trump’s reelection campaign has staffed up with party insiders to line up its delegate strategy well ahead of the party’s nominating convention.
Trump also enjoys high approval ratings within the party.
Hogan criticized the RNC’s decision to give Trump “undivided support” when asked about it.
“I was pretty critical of that,” Hogan said. “To change the rules and to insist 100 percent loyalty to the dear leader…it didn’t seem much like the Republican Party that I grew up in.”