Moderate Republican Hogan says he will not challenge Trump in 2024

Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland and a prominent moderate Republican, has bowed out of the field of potential presidential candidates in 2024, warning that a “pile-up” of contenders could smooth Donald Trump’s path to the nomination.

Hogan’s decision came a day after Trump said he was gearing up for his own “final battle” to win back the White House next year, in a long and rambling, grievance-filled speech before conservative activists and supporters outside Washington.

Trump has already announced his plans to seek a new term as president. Other confirmed rivals to lead the Republican ticket include Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the anti-ESG fundraiser.

But Hogan said that too many Republican candidates would only help the former president, as occurred in 2016 when GOP rivals mounted a divided and ineffective opposition to Trump.

“There are several competent Republicans leaders who have the potential to step up and lead. But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multi-car pile-up that could potentially help Mr Trump recapture the nomination”, Hogan said in a statement on Sunday.

He also issued a warning for his party not to embrace “angry, divisive or performative politics” and abandon “our limited government conservative principles and America’s role as leader of the free world”.

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is widely considered the most politically viable alternative to Trump, and has been gearing up for a possible run, including a visit to the Ronald Reagan presidential library in California.

Other potential Republican candidates in 2024 include Mike Pence, the former vice-president; Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state; Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator; and Chris Sununu, the New Hampshire governor.

According to the latest tracking poll of the 2024 Republican primary fight by Morning Consult released last week, Trump still holds a commanding lead, with 48 per cent of voters preferring him for the nomination, 30 per cent choosing DeSantis, and other candidates relegated to single-digit support.

But Sununu, speaking on NBC on Sunday, seemed confident that Republican voters were looking for different choices.

“[Trump] is not going to be the nominee. That’s just not going to happen,” said Sununu, who is considered among the most moderate of the possible contenders.

“He’s an absolute known commodity to every American in this country . . . he just has his lane, and then there’s everyone else, which is a vast majority of the party that’s looking for an alternative,” he said.

However, Trump’s grip on a significant portion of the Republican base was apparent on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a bastion of support for his 2024 bid.

A straw poll conducted at the event found 62 per cent of attendees preferring Trump for the Republican nomination, compared to 20 per cent for DeSantis, who did not speak at the conference.

“In 2016, I declared I am your voice,” Trump said. “Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.”

Trump also indicated that he would stay in the race even if he faced criminal charges in connection with a series of ongoing state and federal investigations.

The increasingly heated battle for the Republican nomination comes as US president Joe Biden is preparing to announce his own re-election bid.

So far, Biden is not expected to face a major challenge for the Democratic nomination, although Marianne Williamson, an author, announced at the weekend that she would mount another bid for the White House, as she did in 2020.