Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will not be backing his party’s Trump-endorsed nominee to replace him come November, saying he doesn’t believe the man has a shot at winning.
Hogan — who backed former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz in last week’s election — told CNN on Monday that he is “certainly not” going to support Dan Cox.
“I don’t think there’s any chance he’ll win,” Hogan told host Jake Tapper.
“This was a big win for the Democratic Governors Association, who spent over $3 million trying to promote this guy,” he added. “It was basically collusion between Trump and the national Democrats.”
Hogan — who was unable to run for re-election due to term limits — was referring to the massive advertising campaign that the DGA launched, promoting Cox in order to line its candidate up for an easier win in November.
The ads highlighted Cox’s anti-abortion, pro-Second Amendment views — as well as his belief that the 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud.
As of July 13, the Democratic group spent more than $821,000 on television and digital advertising, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited data from tracking firm AdImpact. The DGA also set aside another $354,000 for advertising through the primary — totaling $1,175,000.
The move proved to be successful last week, with Cox taking 56.2% of the vote, while Schulz could only muster 40.3%.
Hogan has not shied away from criticizing former President Donald Trump or the candidates he has chosen to endorse during this primary cycle.
Last week, the Republican governor called the GOP nominee “a QAnon whack job.”
“I don’t think he has any business being a nominee, and he has no chance to win the race whatsoever,” Hogan told CBS News.
Hogan doubled down on his criticism Sunday, saying Cox is “not a serious candidate.”
When pressed further on whether he will support opposing Democratic candidate Wes Moore in the general election, the governor kept his cards close to his chest.
“I’ll have to make a decision about that between now and November,” Hogan said. “I’m certainly not going to support this guy. This guy is not qualified to be governor.”
