Hogan Victory Speech

ANNAPOLIS, MD – June 24, 2014 – In his speech following his victory in the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary this evening, Larry Hogan said the following:

Thank you all very much! I am truly humbled by the results tonight, and I am honored to accept your nomination to become Maryland's next governor!

Let me begin by thanking:

· My running mate, Secretary Boyd Rutherford, who I am so proud of. He is going to make an outstanding LG;

· My better half, my wife Yumi – Won't she make a terrific first lady?

· My family, who are all here tonight;

· Our amazing campaign staff;

· All our volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen;

· And most importantly, the voters all across our state, who believed in us, and who voted to bring real change to Maryland!
We had some strong candidates in the primary that I want to acknowledge:

· County Executive David Craig; we thank him for his 43 years of public service;

· Charles Lollar, who has brought energy and passion and who has a bright future ahead of him;

· And, Delegate Ron George, who served for eight years in the legislature.

I thank each of them for their service and welcome them, and their supporters to join us in this effort.

I also want to recognize Attorney General Doug Gansler, and Delegate Heather Mizeur for their efforts and their contributions.

Tonight I also want to invite the voters who supported them, and who really want to see a chance of leadership in our state, to consider joining with us.

Because as John F. Kennedy once said, "sometimes party loyalty demands too much."

Let me tell you a story about putting aside partisanship to do the right thing.

Forty years ago, a Maryland Congressman, a Republican, sat on the House Judiciary Committee. It was during Watergate, and the entire nation was watching.

Would a Republican be willing to buck his own party, his own president, to do what he thought was right for the nation?

It wasn't easy, but he became the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Nixon.

This congressman put aside party and partisanship and made the tough decision.

He put doing the right thing, ahead of the expedient thing and his own personal political considerations, and he became the only Republican to vote for all three articles of impeachment.

That man was my dad, former Congressman Larry Hogan, Sr. He taught me more in one day about integrity than most men learn in a lifetime.

Folks, this election is not just a typical fight between Democrats and Republicans. It's more important than that.

This is a fight for Maryland's future, and it's a fight worth fighting.

Sadly, Lt. Governor Brown and Governor O'Malley have a failed record of lost businesses, lost jobs, wasteful spending, record tax increases, and broken promises.

40 consecutive tax hikes have taken an additional $10 billion dollars out of the pockets of struggling Maryland families and small businesses.

We're the only state in the nation that taxes the rain.

We've lost 6,500 businesses and unemployment is up to 76%. We're number two in the nation in foreclosures, and dead last in manufacturing.

We've had the largest mass exodus of taxpayers fleeting our state of any state in our region, and one of the worst in the nation.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 47% of all Marylanders would leave the state if they could.

The federal government now ranks out state's economy 49th out of 50.

That's simply unacceptable… the people of Maryland deserve better.

Lt. Governor Brown is asking for a promotion, so he can continue these same failed policies for another four years.

But we can't let that happen.

This may be our last chance to turn out great state around before it's too late.

The people of Maryland simply cannot afford another four years of O'Malley-Brown, tax-and-spend, politics-as-usual.

Recently, the Lt. Governor said that the general election was just a mole hill –

A small, insignificant step on his inevitable march to the governor's mansion.

Well, with your help, we are going to turn that molehill into a mountain.

The arrogant monopoly in Annapolis is expecting a coronation.

I'm putting them on notice tonight: what we're going to give them instead is the toughest fight of their political lives.

The people of Maryland deserve a real, clear choice for a change and that's exactly what we're going to give them.

Boyd Rutherford and I play to put Maryland on a new path – our focus will be on jobs, middle class families, and restoring our economy.

We're going to cut wasteful spending and roll back as many of these 40 O'Malley-Brown tax increases as we can.

Our plan is to get the government off our backs and out of our pockets, so we can grow the private sector, put people back to work, and turn our economy around.

And on day one, Boyd and are I going to roll up our sleeves, and get to work on cleaning up the mess in Annapolis and restoring integrity to our state capital.

I'm not a professional politician. I am just a small businessman and a lifelong Marylander who loves this state.

I decided to run for governor because I believe it's time the politicians in Annapolis started listening to the rest of us.

Folks, we have quite a fight ahead of us. But I believe that this state, it's people, and it's future are worth fighting for.

Our opponent may have all the powers of incumbency, and the millions of dollars in special interest money.

But a majority of Marylanders, regardless of their party affiliation, want to see new leadership in Annapolis. And Boyd and I are going to give it to them.

With your help – with all of us working together – this November, we are going to send a strong, clear message to Annapolis – and together, we will change Maryland for the better.

The politicians who have been responsible for this mess in our state for the last 8 years, say they deserve another four years because they have been "Moving Maryland Forward."

Well, if that's moving Maryland forward, then I say, this November, the people of this great state are just going to have to take Maryland back!

Thank you!