Republican former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in a written interview with the Washington Blade discussed his decision to run for the U.S. Senate and defended his record on LGBTQ rights.

“It’s more important than ever to have strong, independent leadership at every level of government bringing people together and fighting for the exhausted majority,” said Hogan in response to the Blade’s questions that his campaign sent on July 30. “Marylanders know me, and they know I was proud to represent all Marylanders as governor, and that’s exactly what I’ll do in the U.S. Senate.”

Hogan was Maryland’s governor from 2015-2023.

He defeated then-Lieutenant Gov. Anthony Brown, who is now the state’s attorney general, by a 52-46 percent margin in 2014. Hogan four years later defeated former NAACP President Ben Jealous by a 56-43 percent margin.

Hogan in March 2023 said he would not run for president. He announced in February that he is running for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)’s seat. 

Hogan in May easily won the Republican primary. He will face off against Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in November. The outcome could determine whether Democrats maintain control of the Senate.

“I like the county executive and respect her — we worked together on a number of things as governor,” said Hogan, referring to Alsobrooks. “We just have fundamental disagreements on the issues, and how we approach things. I’m committed to taking an independent approach, challenging hyper-partisanship, and getting the country back to decency and common sense.”

Former governor defends LGBTQ record amid criticism

Hogan in 2018 signed a bill that banned so-called conversion therapy in Maryland. Hogan during a 2023 interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” criticized Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law he signed.

A bill that created the Commission on LGBTQ Affairs in the Governor’s Community Initiatives Office took effect in 2021 without Hogan’s signature. 

Hogan also did not sign a bill that banned the so-called LGBTQ panic defense in Maryland.

That law also took effect in 2021. 

Hogan spokesperson Blake Kernen further elaborated on the former governor’s LGBTQ rights record.

“After calling for ‘tolerance and mutual respect’ in his inaugural address, Gov. Hogan supported LGBTQ community priorities throughout his time in office,” Kernen told the Blade. “As some examples, he enacted legislation to ban the practice of conversion therapy, and he upheld and strengthened the state’s anti-discrimination protections — including allowing measures to take effect that extend IVF treatment coverage to same-sex couples, allow transgender Marylanders to revise their birth certificates, ban the ‘gay panic defense,’ and make it easier to prosecute hate crimes.”

(The panic defense ban bill became law without Hogan’s signature.)

Kernen pointed out Hogan appointed the first openly LGBTQ person to serve as a chief judge on a Maryland appellate court.

Hogan in 2022 named E. Gregory Wells as chief judge of the Court of Special Appeals. Wells, who is also Black, is also the first African American person named to the position.

Kernen also noted to the Blade that Hogan “appointed the first members and administrative director of the” Maryland Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. (The law took effect in 2021 without Hogan’s signature.)

“He signed anti-bullying laws, and championed numerous initiatives to combat bias and hate crimes–including increased funding, and expanded community and school resources,” said Kernen.

“In January 2023, when Gov. Hogan left office, the state continued to have the Human Rights Campaign’s highest rating for Working Toward Innovative Equality,” he added. “Maryland has a bipartisan legacy of supporting the LGBTQ community, and Gov. Hogan looks forward to building on this work in the Senate.” 

Hogan on June 1 participated in the Annapolis Pride parade.

Democratic Gov. Wes Moore also took part. An Alsobrooks campaign spokesperson told the Blade that she was unable to attend, but many of her campaign volunteers and supporters marched in the parade.

“We’re grateful to Annapolis Pride for giving candidates the opportunity to take part in their festival,” said Hogan. “I wish County Executive Alsobrooks had been able to join us, but it was an outstanding parade, and a true testament to the spirit of the community.” 

HRC last month endorsed Alsobrooks.

HRC President Kelley Robinson in a statement said Alsobrooks “has always been a champion for equality and freedom, from her support for the state law that legalized same-sex marriage in 2012, to becoming the first Maryland county executive to authorize flying the Progress Pride flag over county buildings, and much more.”

Alsobrooks throughout her campaign has highlighted abortion rights within the context of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade. Alsobrooks during interview with the Blade before the May 14 Democratic primary noted Hogan’s “well-known position as a person who is not pro-choice.”

Kernen in a May 22 statement criticized Alsobrooks over her comments about Hogan’s abortion rights record.

“Governor Hogan protected choice in Maryland for eight years, funding access to abortion in the budget every year and being the first governor in America to provide over-the-counter birth control paid for by Medicaid,” said Kernen. “He said in 2019, Roe was rightly decided and has been on the record against a national abortion ban since 1992.” 

“He rightly vetoed legislation to allow non-licensed medical professionals to perform abortions because that would have lowered health care standards for women,” added Kernen. “In the Senate, instead of playing politics with this issue, he will work to reinstate Roe v. Wade as the law of the land. Marylanders know that when Gov. Hogan gives his word, he keeps it, and that is why voters continue to reject these same tired, false, and fear-mongering attacks.”

Attempted Trump assassination was ‘terrible tragedy’

Hogan remains a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump.

He did not support Trump in 2016 or 2020. Hogan also did not attend last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Trump in June endorsed Hogan for Senate. Kernen said the former governor “didn’t seek the endorsement, and has no interest in it.”

Trump on July 13 survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pa.

Hogan described the assassination attempt as a “terrible tragedy.” He added the country is “at a dangerous inflection point — our nation is like a tinderbox right now.”

“I’ve long been a proponent of lowering the temperature and finding a way to do away with the divisive rhetoric and the angry, toxic politics,” said Hogan.

The Blade asked Hogan whether he thinks the country can unify in the wake of the assassination attempt.

“When I travel the state meeting Marylanders, they give me hope,” he said in response to the question. “If politicians and pundits were more like regular people, our whole nation would be in a better place.”

A Public Policy Polling poll conducted between June 19-20 found Alsobrooks ahead of Hogan by a 45-34 percent margin. Hogan would be the first Republican from Maryland in the U.S. Senate since Charles Mathias retired in 1987 if he wins in November.

“I think a lot of voters, both Republicans and Democrats, want strong independent leaders who will clean up the mess in Washington,” Hogan told the Blade. “They know me, and they know I’m that guy.”

“The pundits said for a long time the Hogan brand of politics is dead, but every time we prove them wrong,” he added. “I know I’m the underdog, but I’m seeking to prove them wrong again.”

Hogan responded to the Washington Blade’s questions before Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“I want to extend my congratulations to Gov. Walz on being selected as the Democratic vice presidential nominee,” said Hogan on Tuesday in a statement. “We had the chance to work together as fellow governors, and while we come from different parties, I have always appreciated his dedication to public service. I believe we need more governors at the national level because governors have to actually get stuff done. I wish Tim and his family well in the campaign ahead.”