Hogan skipping Republican convention

GOP Senate candidate and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will skip the Republican National Convention slated for next month. 

Hogan’s campaign confirmed to The Hill that the the former governor will not be attending the GOP’s July convention in Milwaukee, Wis. The convention, where former President Trump is expected to be picked as the party’s official nominee, will take place July 15-18. 

The former governor did not attend the party’s conventions in 2016 and 2020. 

Hogan, a staunch Trump critic, is running against Angela Alsobrooks (D), Prince George’s County chief executive. Alsobrooks beat Rep. David Trone (Md.) for the Democratic nomination last month, in one of the most expensive Senate primary races in the country. 

The two-term governor is looking to appeal to moderate and left-leaning voters as he continues his run in a blue-leaning state.

The announcement comes after Hogan alienated some of Trump’s top allies last week when he urged voters to “respect the verdict and the legal process” minutes before the decision in the former president’s first criminal case came down. 

Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, shot back at Hogan, saying, “You just ended your campaign.” Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump said the Maryland politician “doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point and, quite frankly, anybody in America.” 

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is a contender for Trump’s vice presidential pick, said it was “totally reasonable to criticize” Hogan for his post last week, but the Ohio senator acknowledged that Hogan is running in a Democrat-heavy state that President Biden won with a 33-point margin in 2020. 

“He obviously is going to run a different campaign than I would run,” Vance said. “I still hope he wins.”