Former Gov. Larry Hogan says he has no obligation to help Maryland GOP if members won't listen

Tinashe Chingarande, The Baltimore Sun on Nov 5, 2026

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Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is distancing himself from efforts to rebuild the state’s struggling Republican Party, saying Thursday that he is focused instead on encouraging a new generation of political leaders.

“I’m teaching at school at Washington College, trying to convince the next generation that they should be more bipartisan, and we should focus on civility,” Hogan told reporters gathered at the Ronald Reagan Center on Civility and Democracy in Washington. “I don’t have any obligation to try to keep helping the guys that aren’t paying attention to me or listening.”

Hogan’s comments come as Maryland Republicans confront another difficult election cycle, with losses in the General Assembly and local government races further narrowing the party’s political footprint. The results have also intensified a fight over who should lead the state party and how Republicans can become more competitive in a state where Democrats hold a commanding advantage.

House Del. Stuart Schmidt and Barry Beauchamp’s defeats cost Republicans two seats in the Maryland House of Delegates. Republican incumbents also lost several local races, including those of Wicomico County Councilman Bobby Lee Leath and Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins.

Former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said the national political environment favoring Democrats made it difficult for Republicans to overcome Maryland’s Democratic advantage in statewide races. But Del. Lauren Arikan, a Harford County Republican and member of Maryland’s Freedom Caucus, called for House Minority Leader Jason Buckel to step down, alleging that House Republican leadership didn’t adequately support Schmidt and Beauchamp. There have also been calls for Maryland Republican Party Chair Nicole Beus Harris to step down.

Hogan, who served two terms as governor, declined to weigh in on the Maryland Republicans’ internal disputes. Instead, he pointed to the national Republican Party’s losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress. He dismissed the Maryland party’s internal disputes as “minor, small inside baseball, little leagues.”

“The Republican Party in Maryland is not who has to do a soul searching and a reckoning,” Hogan said. “The one here in D.C. has to start focusing on that. That’s where the losses took place.”

Despite the party’s struggles, Hogan said Maryland Republicans could still compete statewide by building a coalition around economic issues. Hogan said he doesn’t “see a person on the horizon,” but an economic message is central to building the coalition that propelled him to the governorship twice.

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