CNBC's John Harwood sat down with Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, to talk about politics. Both of them have personal histories with the defining moment in American politics — Watergate. Here's how the scandal impacted Hogan.

John Harwood: You and I are the same age.

Larry Hogan: How come you look so much better?

John Harwood: The summer of '74 when Watergate was reaching a crescendo, we had graduated from high school, I was following Watergate developments very closely. My dad was senior editor of The Washington Post involved in the story. You were involved for a different and more intimate reason. What do you remember about that time for your dad?

Larry Hogan: I remember it really well, and I talk about it really often because I have such respect for my father. He had an amazing influence on my life. But he had a really big role in that impeachment proceeding as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He was the very first Republican to come out for the president's impeachment, and was the only Republican in the entire Congress to vote for all three articles of impeachment.

I remember it well, number one, because it was a huge national and international story at that time. Number two, because I know talking with my dad, even though I was a kid, just graduated from high school, I know what a difficult time it was for him to go through that decision because he had supported the president, he was a Republican. He was an FBI agent and a Georgetown trained lawyer who after seeing all the evidence came to the conclusion that he had been involved in the cover up, and that he felt that he was guilty of impeachable offenses. It was a difficult decision for my dad, I'll tell you.