“We got into this race for the right reasons: to fix the broken politics and to put the country on the right track. And we ran the kind of campaign that represents what politics can be and what it should be.”
(ANNAPOLIS, MD – November 7, 2024) –Tuesday night, Governor Larry Hogan addressed his supporters and Marylanders, congratulating County Executive Angela Alsobrooks on her victory and calling for unity, a return to decency and common sense, and a renewed commitment to bipartisanship in tackling the serious challenges facing our nation.
Following is the full text of Governor Hogan’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:
VIDEO: Watch Governor Hogan’s remarks.
Thank you all so much.
I just spoke with County Executive Alsobrooks. I congratulated her on a hard-fought victory.
In our nation’s history, only three African American women have ever served in the United States Senate. Tonight, regardless of who you voted for, we can all take pride in the election of the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.
As governor, I had the privilege of working closely with Angela. She’s a dedicated public servant. All of us should wish her much success. Yumi and I offer our best wishes and our prayers to Angela and her family.
Now is the time for us to come together and to move forward as one state and one nation, to respect the will of the voters and the outcome of the democratic process.
I want to thank every single one of you in this room tonight. Thanks to my wife Yumi, who inspired me to get into this race, and my entire family. I stepped up to run because I was concerned about what kind of a future we would be leaving for our kids and grandkids. For me, the greatest titles will always be Dad and Pop-Pop.
I want to thank our incredible campaign staff and the thousands of volunteers who worked their butts off. Some campaigns drag on for years; this one was a nine-month sprint. We ran full-speed from day one, from early mornings to late nights, going to every corner of the state, knocking on doors, making calls, and meeting voters from Oakland to Ocean City and everywhere in between.
We built a broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We brought together police, first responders, veterans, longshoremen, teachers, small business owners, young people, retirees, and hardworking families all across the state. This was truly a grassroots campaign.
Most of all, I want to thank my fellow Marylanders, especially all those in deep blue Maryland who were willing to put country over party and split their tickets. If the pundits and the politicians were more like the good and decent people that I meet out on the campaign trail every day, our country would be so much better off.
We got into this race for the right reasons: to fix the broken politics and to put the country on the right track. And we ran the kind of campaign that represents what politics can be and what it should be—driven by the people, not the party bosses, and focused on the issues that actually matter to families across Maryland.
From day one, this was the only campaign in America that reached out to Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike, because that is what it will take to solve the serious problems we face.
Americans today are thoroughly convinced that we are hopelessly divided, that Washington is completely dysfunctional, and that our entire political system is fundamentally broken. The voices of the exhausted majority are ignored in deference to the demands of the loudest and angriest few who seem hell-bent on tearing America apart.
No matter what happens in this election, we as a country must move beyond talking only to those we agree with, and we need to stop dismissing or even hating those we disagree with. We have got to find a way to come together, to listen, and to believe in each other once again, because there really is far more that unites us than divides us.
While tonight did not bring the outcome we had hoped for, we can all hold our heads high. We left it all on the field, and I’m so damn proud of the effort. We proved that campaigns can be about so much more than just red vs. blue. I stressed that we need to get back to the red, white, and blue.
Though this chapter ends tonight, our work and our commitment to a brighter future and a better path forward will continue. The stakes are far too high for any of us to walk away and to just sit on the sidelines.
So to everyone who stood with us in this cause, who worked, fought, and believed in this campaign, let me say this: you should never apologize for standing up for decency and for common sense. Never give in to fear or cynicism. And never, ever give up on the work of changing Maryland and America for the better.
Thank you. God bless you all. May God bless the great state of Maryland and the United States of America.
