Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) said he will not seek a 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
"I did give it serious consideration, and I talked to people everywhere, and I talked to my family, and it was a tough decision, but I've decided that I will not be a candidate for the Republican nomination for president," Hogan said during an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Hogan's announcement comes after he has long speculated a potential run for the White House, challenging former President Trump. He has also spent several months touring early nominating states in the Republican primary process.
"It's really mostly about the country and about the party," Hogan said. "The personal decision – it was like, I didn't need that job. I didn't need to run for another office. I was considering it because I thought it was a public service, and maybe I could make a difference."
Hogan pointed to polls that show that Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) have gained the majority of the support, adding that there isn't much room for other GOP candidates.
"I didn't want to have a pileup of a bunch of people fighting. Right now, you have Trump and DeSantis at the top of the field soaking up all of the oxygen, getting all of the attention," Hogan continued. "And then a whole lot of the rest of us in single digits. And the more of them you have, the less chance you have for somebody rising up."
Hogan, who has strongly opposed Trump, said he didn't want to run for president and potentially help the former president win the election.
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"To once again be a successful governing party, we must move on from Donald Trump. There are several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead," Hogan said in a statement. "But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multi-car pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination."
Hogan served two years as the governor of Maryland in a mostly Blue state. As a Republican, he refused to campaign for Trump-backed Republican Dan Cox and instead endorsed Democrat now-Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
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