Larry Hogan
As soon as Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan (R) was elected in 2014, Democrats sought to cast his victory as an anomaly and assumed he, like the rare Republican governors before him, would be a one-termer.
But they have watched in dismay as Hogan has only grown more popular and powerful in the intervening years. And even in this Democratic state, even in what is shaping up to be a Democratic year nationally, even with the albatross of the unpopular President Trump around his neck, Hogan is a strong favorite for reelection.
Hogan has been anything but an activist governor. But after eight years of frenetic and often progressive governing by his highly ambitious predecessor, former Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D), Hogan’s tenure has seemed like a balm to many voters – a welcome pause. Hogan has largely charted a moderate course and has governed like an old-line Maryland Democrat, taking care to avoid most legislative fights – especially over social issues.
Hogan has also brilliantly used social media to drive home the message that he eschews all partisanship and pursues only “common-sense” legislation – a storyline that disorganized and dispirited Democrats have had a hard time disrupting.
