Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, now a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, will not attend next month’s Republican National Convention headed by his political adversary, former President Donald Trump, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“I can definitively tell you Governor Hogan will not be in attendance,” said campaign spokeswoman Blake Kernen, according to The Sun.
Hogan, who has urged the GOP to move away from Trump, also skipped the party’s conventions in 2016 and 2020 when Trump was the nominee. This year’s events are scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee, with Trump expected as the presumptive 2024 nominee.
Attending conventions allows candidates to fundraise, make appearances, and rally support. However, Hogan’s brand has long differed from the Trump wing of the party, The Sun reported.
As a Republican running statewide in heavily Democratic Maryland, Hogan likely benefits more by distancing himself from the polarizing Trump, who won just 32% of the state’s vote in 2020, according to the publication.
“It makes absolutely no sense for Hogan to go to Milwaukee,” Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia told The Sun. “There would probably be unfortunate incidents or catcalls — the Trump base is known to do that to those who have offended their leader.”
The Hogan-Trump rift widened after Hogan urged Americans to “respect the verdict” in Trump’s recent New York trial over hush money payments, The Baltimore Sun reported. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records.
RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump declined to say if the party would back Hogan financially, stating “he doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican party at this point” over his comments, according to The Sun.
Some Maryland Republicans like congressional candidate Kim Klacik told the publication Hogan should attend to answer for his stance on Trump’s case if he wants party support.
With the convention exposing intra-party rifts, several GOP senators have also announced plans to skip Milwaukee, including Trump critics like Mitt Romney, The Baltimore Sun reported.