Ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he won’t run for open Senate seat in 2024

Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan revealed Tuesday that he’s not interested in running for Senate in 2024, despite being viewed by many as a leading contender for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.

Hogan, one of only two Republicans to be elected to two terms as governor in Maryland, said that he has been fielding inquiries about a possible Senate run – including from his wife – since Cardin’s retirement announcement on Monday.

“I’m getting a lot of calls about that,” Hogan told NewsNation on Tuesday. “I’m getting called by senators, and donors, and I’m getting lots of inquiries from the media, but the thing that surprised me the most was that my wife said, ‘Why don’t you run for the Senate?’” 

“I told her she was crazy,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t have any interest in being a senator.” 

The popular former Maryland governor and cancer survivor explained that the quarrelsome nature of life in the Senate doesn’t appeal to him. 

“The Senate is an entirely different job,” Hogan said. “You’re one of 100 people arguing all day. Not a lot gets done in the Senate, and most former governors that I know that go into the Senate aren’t thrilled with the job.”

 “But it’s not something I’m pursuing,” he added. 

Last year, the centrist former governor turned down overtures from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans to run against Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in the 2022 midterm elections, saying at the time that he was “humbled” but didn’t “aspire to be a United States senator.” 

Hogan, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, bowed out of consideration for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in March after weighing a White House run. 

A Republican hasn’t represented Maryland in the Senate since 1986.