Republican Governor Larry Hogan casts write-in ballot for Ronald Reagan instead of voting for Trump
Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan cast a write-in vote for late former president Ronald Reagan last week, his office confirmed to CBS News on Friday.
Hogan, a frequent critic of President Trump, is not supporting Mr. Trump nor the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden. Hogan's decision to vote for Reagan was first reported by The Washington Post. According to the CBS News Battleground Tracker, which tracks races based on CBS News polling and analysis, there is overwhelming support for Biden in Maryland.
"I know it's simply symbolic," he told the Post. "It's not going to change the outcome in my state. But I thought it was important to just cast a vote that showed the kind of person I'd like to see in office."
It's not the first time Hogan chose not to vote for Mr. Trump. In 2016, Hogan endorsed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie during the primary season and then wrote in his father, former Representative Lawrence Hogan, in the general election.
Hogan, 64, joined Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker as some of the most prominent GOP figures to not support Mr. Trump in the upcoming election. Baker's office said Thursday in a statement obtained by CBS Boston that the "governor cannot support Donald Trump for president and is focused on seeing Massachusetts through the pandemic."
Another Republican governor, Phil Scott of Vermont, said in an August press conference that he wouldn't be voting for Mr. Trump. Scott previously voiced support for the impeachment proceedings and said Mr. Trump "shouldn't be in office." Scott is favored for his re-election this year, and Hogan's office confirmed to CBS News that Hogan would be take part in a town hall with Baker for Scott's campaign on October 22.
Hogan has criticized Mr. Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In April, he told "Face The Nation" that he raised concerns about "mixed messaging" coming from the White House during the coronavirus crisis. Months later, in an op-ed in the Post, he questioned why Mr. Trump did not want to prove assistance to his state with ramping up coronavirus testing.
"I'd watched as the president downplayed the outbreak's severity and as the White House failed to issue public warnings, draw up a 50-state strategy, or dispatch medical gear or lifesaving ventilators from the national stockpile to American hospitals," he wrote in July. "Eventually, it was clear that waiting around for the president to run the nation's response was hopeless; if we delayed any longer, we'd be condemning more of our citizens to suffering and death."
Mr. Trump has also denigrated Baltimore and late Congressman Elijah Cummings months before Cumming's death last year. He described Cumming's district as "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." While Cummings' district encompassed some of Baltimore, it also included some of the wealthier areas in Maryland.
Hogan briefly entertained a primary challenge to Mr. Trump last year, but ultimately dropped out.