Hogan Rallies Supporters at Gubernatorial Campaign Kick-Off

ANNAPOLIS – A boisterous crowd of several hundred enthusiastic campaign supporters braved unusually cold January temperatures Wednesday night to kick-off Larry Hogan’s campaign for governor. In his rousing speech, Hogan took on the leading Democratic candidates for Governor and outlined the case he will make to voters as his campaign swings into high gear:

 “We're told that this election is between the number 2 and number 3 incumbents in the current administration, and that our only real choice is to either promote the Lt. Governor, or the Attorney General.”

“But that's not what Maryland wants. Marylanders are demanding real change in Annapolis – and neither of those career politicians is capable of delivering it.”

“The people of Maryland deserve a real, clear choice for a change, and we're going to give it to them.”

Hogan has quickly emerged as the frontrunner to take on the O’Malley-Brown-Gansler regime.  Internal and external polls suggest nobody is better positioned to defeat this monopoly.  Recent polling shows just 31% of likely voters wanting to see a continuation of the same failed leadership in Annapolis.  In fact, this same polling indicates that Maryland voters favor a dramatic change of direction by an impressive 25 point margin.

In addition to rallying support for his campaign, Hogan surprised an already enthusiastic crowd by announcing his running mate – Boyd Rutherford, former Assistant Secretary for Administration at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and a former Maryland Cabinet Secretary.

“As Lt. Governor, [Boyd’s] management experience and his experience in state government will be put to good use,” said Hogan.  “In my administration, he will be involved in every aspect of the operations of state government, as we work together every day to improve the efficiency with which your state tax dollars are used.”

Together, Larry Hogan and Boyd Rutherford have the right mix of private and public sector experience to turn Maryland around. 

A business owner for over 25 years, Larry has helped attract hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs to Maryland.  He took time away from his successful business to serve as a Cabinet Secretary in the Ehrlich Administration, and founded the state’s largest non-partisan grassroots organization, Change Maryland, focused on bringing fiscal responsibility and common sense policies to Annapolis. 

Boyd Rutherford is an accomplished attorney and operations executive with broad private and public sector experience and expertise at both the federal and state levels.  He has served as the Assistant Secretary for Administration at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services (DGS).