Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has decided not to run for president in 2024, writing in a New York Times op-ed that one main reason he's sitting this one out is he doesn't want to help get former President Donald Trump re-elected.
Hogan, who spent eight years as the governor of Maryland, said he not only wants to protect his family from "another grueling campaign," but he also cares more about "ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party." He's "optimistic" about the GOP, but "deeply concerned about this next election. We cannot afford to have Mr. Trump as our nominee and suffer defeat for the fourth consecutive election cycle."
It's time for the Republican party to "move on from Trump," Hogan, a longtime critic of the former president, said, and there are "several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead. But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multi-car pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination."
Hogan said one thing the GOP needs to do is stop putting "personality before principle," and called out the party for not passing a campaign platform in 2020. "For too long, Republican voters have been denied a real debate about what our party stands for beyond loyalty to Mr. Trump," he said. "A cult of personality is no substitute for a party of principle."
The tides, Hogan continued, are likely "finally turning," with Republican voters "growing tired of the drama and ... open to new leadership." Many Republicans today are still engaging in "angry, performative politics" and calling for "bigger government," he added. "These are just empty calories that can't sustain the lasting governing coalition necessary to restore America." Read Hogan's entire op-ed at The New York Times.