Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is making a stop at the Iowa State Fair amid speculation he plans to launch a campaign for president in 2024.
Hogan’s Thursday trip makes him the first Republican 2024 hopeful to visit the fair this election cycle. He participated in a roundtable with police and touted a newly released anti-crime, pro-law enforcement policy plan from An America United, a pro-Hogan advocacy group.
Starting the day in Boone, Iowa with Congressman @RandyFeenstra thanking members of law enforcement and discussing how we can make our communities safer. pic.twitter.com/OqRyeIzMpO
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) August 11, 2022
The crime-stopping proposal includes provisions to refund police, hold violent criminals accountable, secure the southern border and combat the opioid crisis. Hogan has previously touted his efforts to increase funding for Maryland law enforcement, despite Democratic efforts to kneecap those policies.
One of the most popular governors in the country, Hogan will be term-limited out of Annapolis after the 2022 midterms. Prognosticators have widely speculated he intends to run for president, seeking to fill a moderate, anti-Trump lane in a party still led by former President Donald Trump.
Trump defeated Hogan in what many viewed as a proxy battle in July during the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary. Hogan-backed candidate Kelly Schulz lost to the Trump-endorsed Dan Cox, a state lawmaker who has supported Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
Hogan downplayed the significance of the loss.
“I’ve been helping candidates all across the country – people that I think deserve to be in office,” Hogan told Fox News. “We’ve won five out of the six governors races in which we’ve been involved.” (RELATED: Hogan Rejects Senate Run, Says Republicans Are ‘Focused On The Wrong Things’)
Regarding the FBI raid on Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, Hogan said he wasn’t sure “what changes or doesn’t change about what happened” and called for more work to get to the bottom of the situation.