(CNN) The political world is focused on the ever-growing Democratic 2020 field, all jockeying for their chance to beat President Donald Trump next November. But it looks increasingly likely that Trump is going to have to clear a major hurdle before he even gets there: A primary challenge from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Hogan, who was easily reelected in 2018 in one of the most Democratic states in the country, has been mentioned as a potential Trump challenger for a few months now. But on Thursday, two things happened that seem to suggest that this is no idle flirtation for Hogan:

1) Hogan was invited to speak at the "Politics & Eggs" gathering held by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. A spokeswoman for Hogan told the Baltimore Sun that Hogan is interested in attending(!) but no date had been set.

2) In Washington for the National Governors Association winter meeting this weekend, Hogan went off on the Republican National Committee for its recent move to curtail the chances of a serious primary challenge to Trump. "Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process, and I've never seen anything like it and I've been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It's unprecedented," he told Politico. "And in my opinion it's not the way we should be going about our politics." Hogan added: "The question is, what are they afraid of?"

First of all, no politician goes to a "Politics & Eggs" because they just really, really like breakfast food. It's meant to send a signal that "yeah, I'm thinking seriously about doing this." Hogan is no dummy -- he knows exactly the signal he is sending by making clear that once the Maryland legislative session ends, he's likely to head to the Granite State.