Hogan To Publish Book, Supporters Push For 2024 Presidential Run

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday that he would publish his book on July 28. The release of his memoir, titled "Still Standing," comes as his handling of the coronavirus outbreak has fueled calls for him to run for president in 2024.

Hogan is the second Republican to ever be elected to consecutive terms as Maryland governor. He was first elected in 2014, winning by a 4 percent margin. Hogan easily won reelection in 2018 with a 12 point victory.

The governor's supporters point to his ability to reach across the aisle in a historically blue state. Maryland has voted for the Democratic nominee in 12 of the last 15 presidential elections.

Hogan's support grew in 2015 as he quelled Baltimore riots protesting the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died in police custody. His popularity rose again later that year when he announced that he had cancer. Hogan never left office while he underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy, curing his cancer.

In recent years, Hogan asserted himself as one of the only Republicans willing to criticize President Donald Trump. Hogan's dissent from Trump became especially apparent as coronavirus swept the country. While Trump insisted that America was handling the pandemic well, Hogan instead argued that states needed more resources to contain the virus.

When Maryland was low on coronavirus tests, Hogan leveraged his unique relationship with South Korea to buy 500,000 testing kits from the country. His wife, Yumi Hogan, is from South Korea. She coordinated the effort with South Korea's ambassador, drawing rebuke from Trump.

Maryland has conducted more than 700,000 coronavirus tests to date. With testing kits secured, Hogan's goal is to test 10 percent of every jurisdiction in the state.

Hogan's handling of coronavirus has garnered him national attention. His role as the chairman of the National Governors Association furthered his countrywide media coverage.

Hogan has become one of the national examples of how to handle the pandemic, with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo being another leader. Cuomo, a Democrat, called Hogan's book "An account of how America's governors worked together to fight the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus pandemic."

A virtual book tour featuring well-known Republicans will accompany the release later this month. Hogan will have conversations with former new Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (July 29), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (July 31), former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Aug. 3) and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (Aug. 6). The sign ups for those events is available here.

The book tour is the latest potential sign that Hogan may consider running for president in 2024. Similar calls urged Hogan to run in 2020, but he chose not to challenge Trump in the Republican primary.

"Still Standing" was initially slated to make its debut on June 9, but Hogan pushed the date back as coronavirus became the state's top priority. The book is available for preorder here.

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