Hogan: ‘There’s a future for Chris Christie in the Republican Party’

PORTLAND, MAINE — When former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ran for president in 2016, one of his most prominent endorsements was from a fellow Republican governor in a blue state: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who said in 2015 that he was “extremely excited about the prospect of Chris Christie as president of the United States.”

Today, Hogan – who is term-limited out of office this year and potentially considering his own presidential bid in 2024 – affirmed that he and Christie remain friends and that he believes Christie is still relevant in the modern Republican Party.

“There’s no question there’s a future for Chris Christie in the Republican Party,” Hogan told the New Jersey Globe while attending the summer meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA). “He’s one of our true leaders, and he’s a very good friend. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Governor Christie, and we’re going to continue to work together.”

Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign crashed and burned, but he’s recently made moves implying that he wants to try again in 2024. If he or Hogan were to run, both would likely occupy an anti-Trump lane within the Republican primary; Hogan has long been a Trump skeptic, while Christie was briefly one of Trump’s top allies before the relationship soured harshly.

As for New Jersey’s current governor, incoming NGA chairman Phil Murphy, Hogan said that his relationship with Murphy is “not as good as it is with Governor Christie.”

“I was chairman of the NGA a couple of years ago, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with Governor Murphy,” Hogan said. “I wouldn’t say he’s my close buddy like Christie is, but we get along very well.”