Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican moderate who has often criticized Donald Trump, has decided not to run for U.S. Senate this year — after vigorous lobbying by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — dealing the latest blow to the party's chances of retaking control of the chamber in the 2022 midterms.
Hogan is the third anti-Trump GOP governor to back away from a possible Senate bid despite a recruiting effort by McConnell and his allies. Trump, meanwhile, has prioritized a campaign of revenge against those "RINOs" (Republicans in name only) he sees as traitors over attempts to unseat Democrats, and is backing an array of far-right loyalists in Senate races. As a result, Republicans heading into the midterms with some of their most popular state executives on the sidelines while Trump-friendly Big Lie supporters threaten to upend Republican primaries and undermine the party's prospects in potentially winnable races this November.
