Larry Hogan addresses race, inequality and the importance of voting at Bowie State University

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Larry Hogan received a standing ovation after speaking at an event hosted by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Bowie State University.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are black or white, rich or poor, young or old, Democrat or Republican, from inner-city Baltimore or a small farm on the Eastern Shore, people everywhere feel a huge disconnect between the politicians in Annapolis and the rest of Maryland,” Hogan told a mostly black audience, which included students, civic leaders, and local and state politicians.

In the 15-minute speech, Mr. Hogan, a businessman who grew up in Prince George’s County, highlighted Maryland’s faltering economy and urged the audience to rise above party politics and vote for the candidate who can bring about change. “Now the pollsters and the political experts would tell me that no matter what my platform is and no matter what the track record of my opponent is that many of you aren’t going to vote for me because of the ‘R’ next to my name. But I’m here to challenge that assumption,” he said.

Mr. Hogan also rallied members of the audience to tell their friends and acquaintances to get out and vote this November because a “voteless people is a hopeless people.”

To view a clip from the speech, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvWXQ8_VTOg​

To read the full text of Mr. Hogan’s prepared remarks from last night, click here:

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/changemaryland/pages/181/attachments/original/1410366416/FINAL_BOWIE_STATE_U_SPEECH.pdf​