ANNAPOLIS, Md. 鈥� Even before he walked into the Governor鈥檚 Reception Room in Maryland鈥檚 State House, staff members and supporters were on their feet, giving Republican Larry Hogan a standing ovation.
鈥淭hank you, thank you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really surprised to to see that kind of energy after 鈥� I know a lot of you were out very late last night!鈥�
The first Republican governor to be re-elected in 60 years in Maryland 鈥� and who beat Democrat Ben Jealous by 16 points in a very blue state 鈥� said, 鈥渇rom Day One, we鈥檝e tried to govern differently,鈥� repeating his position of looking for the best ideas, no matter which side of the aisle they come from.
Hogan, who resisted early efforts by Democrats to tie him to the politics of President Donald Trump, said the election was a repudiation of the kind of tone coming from the White House.
鈥淲e had President Trump say the election should be about him even though he鈥檚 not on the ballot,鈥� Hogan said, 鈥渁nd in Maryland, that鈥檚 exactly what happened.鈥�
鈥淧eople came out and expressed their frustrations against just about all Republicans in our state,鈥� with the exception of Hogan himself. 鈥淧eople decided they wanted to keep me, and they brought in a whole lot of Democrats,鈥� he said.
Hogan was asked about the fact that he didn鈥檛 get a congratulatory call from the White House.
鈥淵ou know,鈥� he said, pausing, 鈥渕y feelings aren鈥檛 hurt. I wasn鈥檛 really expecting a call.鈥�
The Republican Party has to 鈥渢ake a close look at itself, and not just in Maryland, but nationally,鈥� said Hogan, adding he鈥檒l take on the top job at the National Governor鈥檚 Association, and hopes that he can help retool the party in that way.
鈥淚 think that will give me a platform to be involved in all the issues,鈥� he said.
After Hogan鈥檚 news conference, Maryland鈥檚 Senate President Mike Miller spoke to reporters about Democrat Ben Jealous鈥� loss to Hogan. Referring to Jealous鈥� progressive platform, Miller said, 鈥淗is message might have played better in California than it did in Maryland.鈥�
But while Miller said Jealous鈥� platform might have been too far to the left, he gave the former candidate credit for the fight he took on: 鈥淚 think he ran the best campaign possible,鈥� Miller said.
Still, if the Democrats had put forth a different candidate 鈥� either James Shea or Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Rushern Baker, who lost to Jealous in the primary 鈥� Miller believed the Democrats could have done better than Jealous.
Over the next four years, the governor said, he鈥檒l keep the focus on the same areas he worked on in his first term: education, preserving the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the economy and transportation.
鈥淚f it ain鈥檛 broke, don鈥檛 fix it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t seems to be working, and people seem to be happy with what we鈥檝e been doing, so I can鈥檛 imagine why we鈥檇 want to change.鈥�
