ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland's Larry Hogan is the second-most popular governor in the United States, Maryland voters of both parties continue to give him sky-high approval ratings of 70 percent or more, and he recently commented on a possible run for president. The moderate Republican, who is seeking re-election in November, has twice in the last week fielded questions about whether he will seek the nation's highest office.

Hogan has never supported President Donald Trump and went so far as to write in his late father on the presidential ballot rather than voting for the controversial Trump. Last summer after a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one woman dead and at least 19 people injured, Hogan condemned the gathering even as Trump said there was on both sides for the clashes. When Hogan spoke with David Rubenstein, president of the Economic Club of Washington D.C., in front of business leaders at the Bethesda Marriott Thursday, he noted that he is one of the country's most popular governors, and "you never say never."

"I have never really given that much thought," Hogan said of a run for president, according to The Washington Post. "Right now, I'm a lot more focused on just getting reelected because there's a lot more things to get done in the second four years." (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)



But he didn't completely dismiss a presidential bid in 2020 or 2024. Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both Republicans, have also refused to rule out a possible 2020 presidential run, Politico says. A new quarterly poll released last week by Morning Consult said 68 percent of voters approve of Hogan, while only 17 percent disapprove and the rest don't know or have no opinion of the governor. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is the most popular governor in the United States, according to the poll, with only a 1 percent higher approval rating than Hogan.

A Real Clear Politics average of polling data gives Hogan a comfortable lead over Democrat Ben Jealous in the November governor's race, 49 percent to 34.3 percent.

Former NAACP president Jealous won union endorsements but not universal backing from Democratic party leaders in the primary election. Hogan's campaign has trumpeted 50 endorsements from current and former elected Democratic officials supporting the governor for re-election over Jealous. The endorsements include Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman, Bowie City Councilman Henri Gardner, Bowie Mayor Fred Robinson, former Anne Arundel County Executive Jim Lighthizer, and more.