Votes Are In for Maryland Governor: Hogan Wins

After eight years of Democrat-driven leadership in Annapolis, Maryland voters decided to make a change.

The 2014 election was chalked up to a win for Republicans, after Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown conceded.

“Tonight we fell short of our campaign goal...” Brown said in the minutes after midnight, speaking from his campaign headquarters in College Park, acknowledging: “This was a tough campaign.” Listen to the complete concession speech from WBAL.

Larry Hogan took to the stage in Annapolis, where the crowd was chanting his name. Hogan thanked Brown and Gov. Martin O’Malley for their service to the state.

“We had the biggest upset in the entire country,” Hogan said of the change in leadership, after eight years of the O’Malley administration. “Tonight we have sent a loud and clear message to Annapolis.”

He thanked Marylanders who were “desperate to bring about change” and voted across party lines. Hogan is the founder of Change Maryland, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring fiscal responsibility in government.

In a heavily blue state, the Republican Hogan ran an increasingly competitive campaign, pushing pro-business policies and cuts to O’Malley’s string of tax increases, while shying away from social issues.

Hogan, owner of an Annapolis real estate firm, lives in Edgewater with his wife, Yumi Hogan, a first-generation Korean-American.

He sought to present himself as a longtime Maryland business owner despite lifelong political ties: He served as Ehrlich’s secretary of appointments and grew up handing out campaign fliers for his father, a three-term U.S. congressman representing Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

As of 12:36 a.m., the Maryland State Board of Elections said 1,867 of 1,986 precincts were reporting, with Hogan-Rutherford at 51.98 percent and Brown-Ulman at 46.3 percent.

Capital News Service contributed to this article.

Photo Credit: Change Maryland