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Top Republican Decides Not To Face Off With Trump For Nomination

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, suspected by many of preparing to campaign for president, has decided against it.

The former governor appeared on Sunday on the CBS show “Face The Nation” where he spoke about his decision.

“Governor Hogan, thank you for having a conversation with us. For so many months now, you’ve been considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination. Have you made a decision?” journalist Bob Costa said.

“I have Bob, you know, I, I just want to thank the people all across the country that have been encouraging me to consider running for president. I was flattered by that and I did give it serious consideration and I talked to people everywhere and I talked to my family. And it was a tough decision. But I’ve decided that I will not be a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. I care very deeply about the country and my party. I think I’ve been a voice of reason to try to get us back to a place where we have a more hopeful, positive vision for America. I think we’ve made a difference and I don’t plan on walking away. I’m going to continue to stay involved in that fight for the soul of the Republican Party, but I’m just not going to do it as a candidate for president,” the former governor said.

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“You think by sitting out – the field, maybe it’s a little tighter,” Costa said.

“I hope so,” Hogan said. He said that he was hopeful that a tighter race would stop former President Donald Trump from getting the Republican nomination for president.

“I was struggling, because my heart was telling me to run. My head was telling me no, that just does not make sense for a whole host of reasons. And my gut was flipping back and forth. So it really came down to – if I wasn’t 100 percent convinced, then I shouldn’t do it,” he said.

“Politically, by staying out of the race – it’s a smaller field, may be tougher for Trump to get the nomination?” Costa said.

“I didn’t want to have a pile up of a bunch of people fighting. Right now, you have, you know, Trump and DeSantis at the top of the field, they’re soaking up all the oxygen, getting all the attention. And then a whole lot of the rest of us in single digits, and the more of them you have, the less chance you have for somebody rising up,” the former governor said.

“You’re a traditional Republican. You have long defined yourself as a conservative Republican. Did you look at this race and say, ‘The path for a Republican like me, like Larry Hogan, is maybe too narrow’?” the host said.

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“Well, there’s no question it was, it’s challenging. There’s a big, big fight for the, I would say, the heart and soul of the Republican Party that I’ve been talking about for years. It’s still going on. We’re making progress, though. I mean, it went from about 90 percent of the Republican primary base was behind Trump, to about 60 percent after January 6, to, it’s down to about 30 percent now. There- there’s about two-thirds of the people in the Republican Party, while they might have supported Trump and Trump’s policies, they really are ready to consider moving in a different direction,” Hogan said.

Costa pointed to the polls that show Trump is still leading among Republicans, but Hogan said he believes it may not last.

“He’s leading in the polls, and there’s no question it’s- he’s a formidable challenge. But I think, you know, a year is an eternity in politics and the first primaries are about a year away. So I think what it looks like today could be completely different than what it looks like a year from now,” he said.

Costa asked him what it would mean if Trump ascended to the presidency again.

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“Then I think it’s, we’re gonna have to do some soul searching. We’re gonna be digging out for a long time. But look, we’ve lost seven out of the last eight popular votes for- in the presidential race. And we’ve lost- we’ve had three horrible election cycles, where we should have done- had a huge pickup in the last election and we didn’t. We lost, before that, the Senate, the House, and the White House. We’ve got to start getting back to a party that- that people will vote for, or we don’t get to govern,” he said.

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