Larry Hogan

Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023.

Hogan was born in 1956 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Landover, Maryland, attending Saint Ambrose Catholic School and DeMatha Catholic High School.

Hogan is the son of Nora (Maguire) and Lawrence Hogan Sr., who served as U.S. Representative from Maryland's 5th congressional district from 1969 to 1975 and as Prince George's County executive from 1978 to 1982.

Hogan Sr. was the first Republican member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to call for Richard Nixon's impeachment.

His parents were both of Irish descent.

He moved to Florida with his mother after his parents divorced in 1972 and graduated from Father Lopez Catholic High School in 1974.

Hogan attended Florida State University from 1974 to 1978 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and political science.

As the son of a U.S. representative, Hogan was exposed to politics at a young age and worked in many aspects of politics, including political campaigns and citizen referendums.

While in college, Hogan worked in the Florida legislature.

Upon graduation, he worked on Capitol Hill.

Hogan helped his father run a successful campaign in 1978 for Prince George's County executive and later worked for him as a low-paid "intergovernmental liaison".

Hogan unsuccessfully campaigned for Maryland's 5th congressional district in 1981 and 1992, the latter of which was incumbent Steny Hoyer's closest race.

In 1981, at age 24, Hogan first ran for office in the special election to fill the vacancy in Maryland's 5th congressional district left by Gladys Noon Spellman.

Spellman had succeeded Hogan's father in the office.

Hogan finished second out of 12 candidates in the Republican primary with 22% of the vote, behind Bowie Mayor Audrey Scott's 63%.

In 1985, Hogan founded Hogan Companies, which is engaged in brokerage, consulting, investment and development of land, commercial and residential properties.

He spent the next 18 years in the private sector.

In 1992, Hogan was the Republican nominee for Maryland's 5th congressional district, running against Democratic incumbent Steny Hoyer.

Hoyer outspent Hogan by a 6-to-1 margin.

The race was the closest in Hoyer's tenure.

Hogan won four of the district's five counties and 44% of the vote to Hoyer's 53%, with William Johnston (Independent) at 3%.

He then served in the cabinet of governor Bob Ehrlich from 2003 to 2007 as Maryland Secretary of Appointments.

Hogan took a four-year leave of absence from his business to serve as Maryland's secretary of appointments in Bob Ehrlich's administration from 2003 to 2007.

In this capacity, Hogan appointed over 7,000 people to positions in the Maryland government.

In 2011, Hogan founded the Change Maryland organization, which he used to promote his 2014 gubernatorial campaign.

In 2011, Hogan founded Change Maryland, a nonprofit anti-tax advocacy organization that was used to criticize Governor Martin O'Malley's administration.

The organization promoted Hogan's gubernatorial run, and his campaign eventually purchased its assets.

The Maryland Democratic Party alleged that Hogan had improperly received campaign benefits from the nonprofit; the State Board of Elections dismissed two of the complaints but found Hogan's campaign had not properly disclosed the value of a poll the nonprofit did before purchasing its assets.

As governor, media outlets labeled Hogan as a moderate Republican and a "pragmatist".

He campaigned as a moderate Republican and defeated Democrat Anthony Brown in the 2014 general election.

In 2015, The Washington Post's editorial board wrote that he was "true to his promise to govern from the center in the first legislative session of his term."

On the Issues, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that tracks politicians' positions, considers Hogan a centrist.

In a 2022 Morning Consult poll, Hogan was listed as the third-most popular governor in the United States, with a 70% approval rating.

Despite his popularity, Hogan had no coattail effect on any downballot races in Maryland, with Democrats expanding their legislative supermajority and picking up several county-level seats during his tenure.

He was reelected in 2018, defeating Democrat Ben Jealous, to become Maryland's first two-term Republican governor since Theodore McKeldin.

He was term limited from running for a third term in 2022 and was succeeded as governor by Democrat Wes Moore.

Hogan left office as one of the most popular governors in the United States with a 77% approval rating.

After leaving office, Hogan was initially seen as a likely contender for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 2024 presidential election but he has declined to seek the nomination.

On February 9, 2024, Hogan filed and launched a campaign to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland, seeking to succeed retiring incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term US representative Lawrence Hogan, he also served as chair of the National Governors Association from 2019 to 2020.