I’ve read this time and again as the election cycle gears up, that Hogan has 60-70% support in the state, had wide crossover appeal, etc. In an era where politics seem to begin and end with “He’s not a [Dem/Rep]? Fuck that guy”, that’s a pretty impressive niche.
I know Maryland is a solid blue state in presidential cycles (+25 Clinton) but that doesn’t always translate to state level elections. Still, not knowing what the situation is in Maryland, what’s the secret to this guy’s success?
He’s a Republican but he’s not really all that conservative, not by today’s standards, at least. He’s very moderate and pragmatic. He’s smart enough to know that the very conservative Eastern Shore is who elected him, but he also knows the rich and powerful central Maryland counties could probably easily oust him if he crosses them. He actually understands that government and governing require compromise, and ideological gridlock helps exactly no one. He seems to legitimately care what happens to everyone in Maryland, and not just the people on “his side.” Shocking, isn’t it?
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From DcnDC’s description, he sounds a lot like Nevada’s Gov. Sandoval in politics and attitude. I’ve lived here for more than 20 years and Brian Sandoval is the best, least contentious governor the state has had since Bob Miller’s term expired in 1999. I voted for him both times and if if we didn’t have term limits I have no doubt he’d win a 3rd.
I didn’t know if he did some amazing state turn-around or other heroic deed to make everyone love him (well, ~65% of everyone). It’s sort of funny because I read things like “Bad news for Democrats because Hogan is popular” and can’t help but think “Well, if he’s popular among Democrats in a state with a strong blue tilt, it can’t be that bad of news…”
Some people just have a reflexive kneejerk reaction to the (R) next to his name, but if you look at what he’s actually done, he’s been very open to bipartisanship.
Granted, he’s literally surrounded by Democrats everywhere in the Maryland legislature, and the only way to get anything done is to work together.
It may also be that deep-blue Democrats fear Hogan’s popularity will be a foothold for other Republicans to take over Democratic seats in the General Assembly, but while a seat or two may flip here and there, Maryland is in no danger of going purple anytime soon.
I don’t think we were a state in dire need of a turnaround prior to Larry Hogan becoming governor.
I’ll echo what others have said, I’m not crazy about having a Republican governor here but he’s pragmatic and interested in using state government as a tool for progress, not as a laboratory for some backward ideology. There’s not much difference between him and a moderate Democrat.
Maryland – we may be mostly blue but we’re not completely crazy.
Yeah, like that school year thing. The only county in Maryland whose school year started after Labor Day was - surprise! - the county that Ocean City is in.
Hogan made ALL counties start after Labor Day. AND our school years had to end by June 15, too.
He said he was doing that for the families, so we could have more time to play with our kids at the beach, or something. Like a nine or ten week summer vacation didn’t leave enough time for that already? Guess the schools needed to be off for 12 weeks during the summer.
He was putting the interests of the Ocean City tourist businesses above everyone else’s interests. Fuck him.
Funny, my kids don’t get out of school until the 19th of June. And I like the fact that my kids don’t start until after Labor Day. More time for vacations.
I think he’s been an alright governor. I’m going to vote for him and I’m a registered Democrat.
Agreed. When we moved to Maryland the biggest gripe we had was the ridiculous school calendar. I think all schools nationwide have to have 180 classroom days, so it’s a matter of how you organize them. My son, who spent most of his school years in New York (where schools always began in Sep and ended in mid/late June) , was overjoyed to have a schedule like what he and we were accustomed to. Why colleges go Aug-May I’ll never understand.
No, it wasn’t just the sparsely populated Eastern Shore, Hogan punished Brown in heavily Democratic Balto county as well as his own Anne Arundel county. Those are central Maryland for those following.
He enjoys an 86% approval rating in Baltimore County. A county key to a Democratic victory.
The Democrats ran a wet fish last time and it is a very weak field for them this year.
Because they want to put the break between semesters over Christmas time. In el-high schools on a later schedule, those few weeks in January between the end of Christmas break and the change of semesters are pretty much lost time, when the students have forgotten what they were doing before. You might as well wrap that up and start something new.
There are two different college schedules. Some start in late august or very early September and end in May. Others start in late September and end in June. The former are on a semester system; the latter on a quarter system. The common denominator is that fall term ends before Christmas for both.
Ah, school years/university years. You should hear the arguments in the UK, which have been going on for decades. There’s probably no resolution to them. Throw in the research that says teenagers do better if the school day starts later, and there’s enough to keep a debate going for ever.
I’m from Ocean City, but left there long ago. I was a libertarian early on but mostly knew Dems. Never got the sense that the Eastern Shore was more conservative (very very very racist, but I didn’t think that was supposed to be a conservative value) until later. Based on what I’ve read and heard about Hogan, I’m not surprised he’s somewhat popular. I was much more surprised/impressed when Ehrlich won (my 1st/last election in MD), but I did meet KKT so I can say his competition was weak. I’m getting a kick out of seeing the former Lt. Gov/RNC head as the anti-Trump cable tv guy.
I understand that there’s some sort of Association of Republican Governors. Anybody know how he comports himself at their gatherings? Gung-ho for Republican gubernatorial policies, or keeping his head down?
