It appears confirmed.
Now that Donald Trump has taken control of the Republican National Committee, the group looks like it’ll turn its back on Maryland GOP Senate hopeful Larry Hogan after he ran afoul of Trump’s campaign because of what he had to say ahead of the former president’s criminal conviction.
“Right now, Larry Hogan has to run his own race,” RNC chairman Michael Whatley said during an interview on Newsmax. “We are behind the Republican nominee and we will support that nominee, but Larry Hogan is going to have to have that conversation with his voters there. He is going to to get support from the NRSC, the Senate committee.”
Pushed further on whether that meant the RNC wouldn’t support Hogan, Whatley responded: “I didn’t say that. We’re making decisions on investing in races every single day as we go forward with it. … Right now we will evaluate it as we move forward in the election cycle.”
His refusal to get behind Hogan as of now comes after senior Trump advisor Chris LaCivita posted “you just ended your campaign” to Hogan after the former Maryland governor urged people to respect the jury’s decision regardless of the verdict.
LaCivita is on the RNC leadership team.
Republicans stand a good chance of taking control of the Senate in November, and if Hogan flips the seat from its Democratic control, those chances for a GOP takeover would be even more likely.
Hogan easily won his party’s nomination for the seat opened by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin’s retirement. The Senate race in the solidly Democratic state would normally be a snoozer, but Hogan is a candidate unlike any other Republican.
Over his two terms as governor, Hogan won a significant number of Democratic votes and remained popular among a wide swath of the left-leaning state. He’s been a sharp Trump critic, which endears him to a segment of the Democratic electorate and can blunt attacks from the left. That’s why Senate Republicans wooed him relentlessly to run for the newly open seat, as part of their plan to flip control of the chamber from Democrats, who currently have a two-seat majority.
Candidates with cross-party appeal like Hogan used to be a staple of national politics, but they are fading fast in an era where voters routinely vote on a straight party line rather than for individual politicians. During the last two presidential elections, only one senator — Maine Republican Susan Collins — won a state that also backed a presidential candidate of a different party.
Trump was found guilty in his criminal hush-money and election interference trial in Manhattan on Thursday, making him the first former president in history to be a convicted felon.
Trump potentially faces time behind bars after the jury came back with a unanimous verdict among the 34 felony counts he faced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
