10 Things You Didn’t Know about Maryland Governor Larry Hogan

Larry Hogan is the current Governor of Maryland. In recent times, his name has become prominent because of his role in combating COVID-19. For instance, Hogan is one of the governors who has ordered non-essential businesses to close down in his state, though he has stopped short of ordering a lockdown.

1. Son of Lawrence Hogan Sr.

It is interesting to note that Hogan is the son of Lawrence Hogan Sr., who was a U.S. Congressman from January of 1969 to January of 1975. Generally speaking, said individual is best remembered because he was the one Republican who voted to recommend all three of the House articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. It was a principled choice, but it was also one of the main factors that contributed to his failure to secure the position of the Republican nominee for the 1974 gubernatorial race for Maryland.

2. Has Been Involved in Politics Since College

Hogan has been involved in politics in various ways since college. For starters, his degree was in government as well as political science. Furthermore, he spent some time working in the Florida State Legislature when he was still in college, which was followed by him heading over to work on Capitol Hill once he had completed his education. On top of this, while Hogan wasn’t involved in his father’s earlier political career, he was involved in the later parts to various extents.

3. Entered Business

Later, Hogan entered business. In particular, it should be mentioned that he founded Hogan Companies, which specialize in real estate services. In total, Hogan Companies boast about having completed $2 billion in real estate transactions by bringing the right buyers and the right sellers together, which is no mean achievement.

4. Considered to Be a Moderate Republican

Politics-wise, Hogan is considered to be a moderate Republican. He promised to govern from the center in his first term, which is a promise that seems to have been carried out. Thanks to that, Hogan polls better with Maryland Democrats than what a lot of people would expect based on the fact that he is a Republican.

5. Focus On Economic Issues

Some people have explained Hogan’s popularity as a product of his choice to focus on economic issues rather than social issues. As a result, he has been able to please both Democrats and Republicans with his economic policies while avoiding offending either one side or the other by getting too involved in contentious social issues. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Hogan doesn’t have opinions about those contentious social issues, just that he doesn’t focus on them as much compared to a lot of his counterparts.

6. Has Taken an Interest in Environmental Matters

Hogan has taken an interest in various environmental matters. For example, he has signed a law banning the practice of hydraulic fracturing in his state, though he has also voiced his support for pipelines carrying natural gas produced via hydraulic fracturing in other states. Likewise, he was one of the political figures who stated their opposition to the United States’s exit from the Paris Agreement, which was followed by him bringing his state into the United States Climate Alliance. Curiously, while he has reauthorized targets for greenhouse gas reduction, he has also opposed an effort to increase the state’s use of renewable energy, so much so that the state’s General Assembly had to override his veto on the matter.

7. Has Taken an Interest in Gun Control

Speaking of which, Hogan had taken an interest in gun control as well. For instance, he signed a law that strengthened gun control regulations in October of 2018. One of its effects was the banning of bump stocks. Another of its effects was the banning of gun ownership by people who had been convicted of domestic abuse. As a result, while Hogan was endorsed by the NRA during his first term, he was not endorsed by the NRA during his second term. Something that he doesn’t particularly mind, as shown by his statement that he would have rejected such an endorsement as well as the support that it entailed anyways.

8. Mixed Record on Social Issues

Hogan has had a mix of stances on social issues. For example, there was a point when he supported civil unions rather than marriage for homosexual couples, but his stance has evolved in that regard, which to be fair, isn’t a particularly uncommon occurrence. Meanwhile, Hogan was opposed to abortion and remains opposed to abortion, but he has shown no real interest in making abortions illegal. Besides that, while he opposed a transgender rights law signed by his predecessor, he has also provided protections for gender identity when it comes to employees of the executive branch as well as refused to veto a law that made it possible for transgender Marylanders to change the gender on their birth certificates.

9. Opposed to Donald Trump

Having said that, Hogan has been pretty consistent in his opposition to President Donald Trump. For instance, he supported Chris Christie in the Republican nomination but refused to switch over to Trump when Christie endorsed him. On top of that, Hogan wrote in his own father’s name rather than vote for Trump when the presidential election came. In more recent times, Hogan has even voiced support for the impeachment inquiry against Trump.

10. Has Been Proactive About Combating COVID-19

Hogan is one of the political figures who have been very active in the fight against COVID-19. For example, he is one of the governors who have ordered the closure of non-essential businesses in an effort to reduce the number of people moving about in public. Likewise, he is one of the governors who have been stressing the importance of social distancing, which is also meant to stop as well as slow down the spread of the coronavirus throughout the population. It remain to be seen what will happen in the times to come, but it is interesting to note that Hogan has also been calling for increased enforcement of social distancing because of people who are ignoring said recommendation.

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