An interview with Governor Larry Hogan as he wraps up two terms leading Maryland
Governor Hogan talks about his final weeks in office
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is sitting down exclusively with FOX 5 as he leaves office to discuss whether he will run for president in 2024. In a rare interview inside the Government House, Gov. Hogan told FOX 5 he has been fielding interest from people across the country encouraging him to run for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Gov. Larry Hogan is wrapping up two terms as the governor of Maryland in January and passing the baton to Governor-Elect Wes Moore. Hogan sat down for a one-on-one with FOX 5 DC's Tom Fitzgerald in Annapolis.
Gov. Hogan says he wanted to cross the finish line strong, and he feels his administration has accomplished that.
"I think we left it all on the field," he says. "It's not like we solved every single problem that was out there, but I feel a sense of satisfaction that we actually got a lot of the things done that we said we were going to do, and the state is in much better shape than when we found it."
As a Republican governor in a Democratic state, it wasn't a guarantee at the start of his terms that he would be a popular representative. However, he experienced high approval ratings during his time with the most recent numbers hovering around 70 percent.
Gov. Hogan says he doesn't think of it as a barometer for popularity, but job approval.
"That means they think that our team did a pretty good job, and they like the direction that the state is in," he says.
When FOX 5 asked about Gov. Hogan's greatest challenges in office, he said the Baltimore riots and his own cancer diagnosis were difficult.
"We had all these plans and things we were going to focus on, turning the economy around, getting Maryland to be more competitive, and we focused on that, but 89 days after being governor, we had the worst violence in 47 years break out in our largest city," he says. "60 days later, I had only been governor for five months when I got this life-threatening cancer diagnosis."
READ MORE: Governor Hogan meets Governor-Elect Moore to begin transition of power
Gov. Hogan says he did nearly six months of chemotherapy for four hours a day while he was leading the state of Maryland.
FOX 5 asked Gov. Hogan what he would say to himself in 2014 when he had just been named Governor-Elect.
"I was full of optimism and enthusiasm and I feel as if we actually did all of the things we said we were going to do," he says. "But I certainly would have warned the guy about what was going to be ahead with the riots and the cancer and the worst global pandemic in 100 years."
As he rounds out his time as governor, there is much speculation over whether he will run for president in 2024. Gov. Hogan told FOX 5 he has been fielding interest from people across the country encouraging him to run for the Republican nomination.
READ MORE: Governor Hogan raises money amid speculation of White House bid
"Being one of the top governors in America and having been successful in the bluest state in the country, people say, ‘Hey, why couldn’t you do that right down the road in Washington?'" Hogan says.
He has not made any official announcements about running but has also not ruled out the possibility.