When former Gov. Larry Hogan casts his ballot this year, he could be leaving the vote for president blank.
Speaking on CNN on Tuesday evening, Hogan indicated that he’ll skip over president completely, rather than vote for Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris.
“I’ve decided that neither one of them has earned my vote, and I’ve never voted for anybody I didn’t believe in,” Hogan told host Wolf Blitzer — a statement that Hogan has made before.
But what came next was new.
“So you’re just not going to vote for the presidential candidate? You’re going to leave that blank when you go to the polling booth?” Blitzer asked, as Hogan nodded affirmatively and seemed to quietly say “yes.”
The Baltimore Banner reached out to Hogan’s campaign to confirm the former governor’s intentions, but did not immediately hear back. Hogan’s team said he plans to vote on Election Day.
Hogan, a Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate this year, has a history of making alternative choices when it comes to voting for president.
In 2016, Hogan wrote in the name of his father, Larry Hogan Sr., who was a former member of Congress and county executive of Prince George’s County. And in 2020, Hogan wrote in a vote for late President Ronald Reagan.
In recent days, the Maryland Democratic Party has criticized Hogan for not taking his anti-Trump position far enough to cast a vote for Harris. The party has noted that Hogan has a TV ad airing now that features a voter saying she’s supporting both Harris and Hogan — but that Hogan isn’t supporting Harris himself.
A recent press release from the Democratic Party was headlined: “Hogan Refuses to Put Country Over the Republican Party and Support Kamala Harris for President.”
“Hogan’s talk about bipartisanship is nothing but empty rhetoric,” the statement said.
Blitzer noted the messaging of the ad as well, and played it during his segment with Hogan.
“You say you won’t vote for Trump, right?” Blitzer asked. Hogan’s response: “Yes.”
“But in that ad, you seem to be promoting Kamala Harris as well?” Blitzer asked.
“No,” Hogan said, going on to explain that the ad featured one split-ticket voter who is an example of the coalition of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters that he’s trying to build to win the election.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.