Posted on 07/01/24
| News Source: FOX45
July 1st marked a new month and new fees are hitting Marylanders. The cost to register a car in the Old Line state increased by as much as 60-70% and it was just one of many new fees.
On a Monday edition of Fox45 Morning News, former Maryland Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan spoke with Patrice Sanders about Maryland's economic outlook. Hogan left the governor's office with the state at a more than $5 million surplus. Right now he says Maryland is in rough economic shape.
"The economy is really tough right now," Hogan said. "Maryland families and retirees are struggling to try to pay the bills because everything is more expensive."
Hogan's successor and current Maryland Governor Wes Moore has said he had to rein in spending in the current budget that came from federal pandemic aid and was not sustainable moving forward. Hogan, along with some other Maryland Republicans, agrees.
"We spent a lot of money during COVID but we're not spending it anymore," Hogan said. "I think that the legislature failed to rein in some of the mandated spending, which they should have."
"[Maryland] is releasing violent criminals into neighborhoods without following federal law by notifying ICE when they put a detainer in," Hogan said. "Several jurisdictions have made the decision not to notify them and it's just outrageous and unacceptable. It's one of the worst things I've ever seen, and I think the federal government needs to force these local governments to follow federal law."
Speaking of the federal government, Hogan is in the middle of a race for a U.S. Senate seat. He is the republican candidate for the seat that will be vacated by retiring democratic senator Ben Cardin. Hogan's opponent is Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and polling shows her with a lead. Hogan says projected results are not a concern for an election still many months away.
"I've been saying from day one I'm a huge underdog in this race," Hogan said. "Even though I left office with a lot of people thinking I did a good job as governor I'm not taking anything for granted."
And while Hogan has been out in the community, pushing to earn voters' backing, his biggest endorsement has come from a name on the national stage in the republican candidate for President, Donald Trump. Hogan, a former critic of the former president, believes the endorsement may have hurt his chances in the race, but only slightly.
"It was not something [my campaign] was looking for," Hogan said. "But look, Maryland is a very democratic state. They vote for me because I am a non-partisan, bi-partisan guy that reaches across the aisle. Donald Trump lost the state by 33 points, I ran 46 points ahead of him so I'm not sure that is going to carry a lot of weight."
For more interviews like this one, be sure to tune in to the Fox45 Morning News every weekday from 4:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.