By Rebecca Rainey
@thedbk
For The Diamondback
The Republican National Convention last week drew a slew of press, politicians and protesters to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, but Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was nowhere to be found.
Hogan, instead, in political maneuver, attended the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in the Eastern Shore town of Crisfield that sits right in one of the arms of the Chesapeake Bay, according to Hogan’s press office.
“Hogan looks at what Republicanism means nationwide and in Maryland and right now those are different things,” said Stella Rouse, director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship. “It is a smart strategic political move.”
Maryland is known for being one of the bluest states in the country and is notably a haven for government employees who commute to the Washington area.
Hogan — who beat former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a Democrat, by 65,000 votes in the 2014 gubernatorial race — is up for re-election in 2018. If he hopes to win, he has to prove his worth to a constituency in which registered Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.
“Hogan realizes that he has to be a real moderate, not just a pretend moderate, if he is to win re-election,” said Eric Uslaner, a government and politics professor at the University of Maryland. “And that means staying as far away from [Republican presidential nomineee Donald] Trump as possible in a state with a very diverse and liberal electorate.”
And that is what Hogan has done.
“The governor has said that he would not endorse any candidate and continue to stay focused on Maryland,” Shareese Churchill, a spokeswoman for the governor, wrote in an email.
But Rouse said Hogan’s lack of endorsement will not prevent the Trump-Republicans from re-electing him and that Trump supporters in Maryland are concerned about different political issues than those of staunch Trump supporters of the Rust Belt.
“The party has passively given the okay for those up for re-election to separate themselves from the presidential candidate,” Rouse added.
And Hogan’s politicking seems to be working, as many Republican politicians from the Eastern Shore see Hogan’s appearance as a positive gesture.
“It was historic,” said Maryland delegate Johnny Mautz. “The last governor to visit Crisfield was Harry Hughes and I think [Hogan] was received very enthusiastically by the community and supporters of the event.”
Mautz, who attended the clambake, said that it was important for the governor to meet the people and experience the culture of one of the smaller counties in Maryland.
“I think it’s helpful for him making decisions from Annapolis that affect the people of the Eastern Shore,” he said.
