Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on 2024 Senate race, the national debt and working across the aisle

SALESFORCE SET TO POP AT THE OPEN. A BIG UPSIDE. NASDAQ AHEAD BY 47. >>> RACE ARE TO THE OPEN U.S. SENATE SEAT IN MARYLAND IS HEATING UP. FORMER REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN IS TAKING ON PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY EXECUTIVEANGELA O OSSALBROOKS. FORMER GOVERNOR HOGAN JOINS US THIS MORNING AND LARRY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. GOOD MORNING, THE REASON THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT SENATE RACE IS BECAUSE MARYLAND IS A VERY BLUE STATE. IT HASN'T HAD A REPUBLICAN SENATOR SINCE 1987. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WON THE STATE BY OVER 30 POINTS IN 2020, AND I THINK SEVEN OF THE EIGHT REPRESENTATIVES ARE ALL DEMOCRATS, TOO. YOU WERE ALWAYS A BIT OF A RN ANOMALY. REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN A BLUE STATE. KIND OF NECK AND NECK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED? >> GOING REALLY WELL. COULDN'T BE MORE PLEASED WHERE WE ARE IN THE RACE. OBVIOUSLY A VERY DIFFICULT CHALLENGE. I BECAME ONLY THE SECOND REPUBLICAN RE-ELECTED GOVERNOR IN 248 YEARS, TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE. ARGUABLY THE BLUEST STATE IN AMERICA, BUT THE PEOPLE OF MARYLAND OVER EIGHT YEARS KNOW ME AND THEY KNOW THAT I'M KIND OF A STRONG INDEPENDENT LEADER THAT WILL STAND UP AND TRY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND REACH ACROSS THE AISLE AND THEY KNOW THAT I'M FOCUSED ON BIPARTISAN COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS. THE POLL NECK AND NECK, RUNNING 32 POINTS AHEAD OF THE TOP OF THE TICKET, WHICH IS KRO THINK ANYONE'S EVER DONE BEFORE. WE'RE DOING VERY WELL WITH REPUBLICANS. UP 23 POINTS WITH INDEPENDENTS AND A BIG CHUNK OF DEMOCRATS INCLUDING 31% OF THE BLACK VOTE, WHICH -- A LONG WAY TO GO. WE'RE NOT -- I'M RUNNING LIKE I'M 20 POINTS DOWN BUT IT IS A NECK AND NECK RACE AND WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED. AFTER LABOR DAY READY TO GO ACROSS THE STATE, CONTINUE TO TALK TO VOTERS AND TRY TO MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT I CAN BE A KEY SWING VOICE IN THE SENATE TO TRY TO FINALLY GET SOME PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THINGS DONE ON SOME OF THE SERIOUS PROBLEMS THAT FACE US. >> THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. I KNOW YOU HAVE, DON'T HAVE THE ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP. HAD A PRETTY CONTENTIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AND SURE YOU HAVEN'T SOUGHT HIS ENDORSEMENT IN THIS SITUATION. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ACTUALLY TRYING TO GET THINGS ONE, WHAT ISSUES WHERE YOU THINK THERE IS BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT? THINGS THAT BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE COULD WORK ON? >> UNFORTUNATELY NOT A LOT OF BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT BUT I THINK THAT IT'S DESPERATELY NEEDED. ON THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, FOR EXAMPLE. I WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION, BROUGHT ALL 50 GOVERNORS TOGETHER. PUSHED THE AGENDA BRINGING DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN TOGETHER. ONE EXAMPLE OF BIPARTISANSHIP WORKING, BUT I THINK PROBABLY THE NEXT THING, AT SOME POINT WE HAVE TO SIT DOWN, GET SOME KIND OF DISCUSSION WHAT WE DO ABOUT THE INCREASING DEBT PROBLEM IMPACTING EVERY OTHER THING GOING ON IN THE COUNTRY. AFFORDABILITY, INFLATION, THE ECONOMY. WHICH EVERYONE'S CONCERNED ABOUT. I ALSO THINK WE CAN POTENTIALLY GET A SOLUTION TO SECURE THE BORDER, AND TO FIX THE BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM, BUT IT TAKES PEOPLE THAT ARE WILLING TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND TALK TO ONE ANOTHER INSTEAD OF JUST POINTING FINGERS, YELLING AND BLAMING EACH OTHER. WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW. A LOT OF PERFORMATIVE POLITICS. PEOPLE DON'T SEEM TO WANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS JUST SCORE POLITICAL POINTS. I'M GOING TO TRY TO GO THERE BE A STRAIGHT SHOOTER AND WILLING TO WORK WITH FLIANYBODY TO GET PEOPLE'S WORK DONE. >> IF ELECTED EXPECTED TO VOTE WITH REPUBLICANS AND LOOK AT THE TAX PLAN FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP PROPOSED NOW IT'S BASICALLY EXTENDING THOSE 2017 TAX CUTS PERHAPS ADDING MORE LOWERING THE CORPORATE RATE BELOW THE CURRENT RATE AND ALSO EXEMPTING TIP WAGES, ET CETERA. HEARD A LOT ABOUT MORE TAX CUTS THAT COULD ADD SOMEWHEREBETWEE $4 TRILLION AND $5 TRILLION TO THE DEFICIT, BUT NOTHING ON, OR NOT MUCH, ON SPENDING OR REVENUE RAISES. IF AS YOU JUST MENTIONED DEBT IS SO IMPORTANT, HOW WOULD YOU LOOK AT TAX POLICY AND SPECIFICALLY ON HOW YOU WOULD RAISE REVENUE OR WHERE YOU WOULD CUT TO AT LEAST ADDRESS SOME OF THE DEFICIT RIGHT NOW? >> YEAH. A GREAT QUESTION. FRANKLY I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE TALKING ABOUT DOING ANYTHING WITH THE DEBT. BOTH TALKING ABOUT DOING THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE IT WORSE. A LOT OF IT IS JUST MAKING POLITICAL PROMISES IN A CAMPAIGN. SOME OF WHICH WON'T ACTUALLY HAPPEN. IT WON'T HAPPEN WITHOUT CONGRESS TAKING ACTION, AND, NO, I WON'T ALWAYS BE VOTING WITH REPUBLICANS. I MEAN, LOOK. I WANT TO EXTEND THE SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS, CHILD TAX CARE CREDITS. 35 MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES, IF WE DON'T EXTEND THOSE TAX CUTS I THINK IT'S GOING TO HAVE TREMENDOUS DAMAGE TO THE ECONOMY. ON THE OTHER SIDE, THOUGH, SOME OF THE POLICIES FROM HARRIS THAT ARE ALSO GOING TO PUT US IN WORSE SHAPE. JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM WASHINGTON OVER IN OUR STATE DMAEP CAPITAL IN ANNAPOLIS, WORST RECORD IN STATE HISTORY. $5.1 TRILLION. CUT TAXES BY $4.7 BILLION, GREW THE ECONOMY, CREATED MORE BUSINESSES AND JOBS LEFT WITH A $5.5 BILLION RECORD SURPLUS AND TOOK OUR OVERALL ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE TO NUMBER SIX. BIGGEST ECONOMY TURNAROUND IN AMERICA. IT'S DIFFERENT IN WASHINGTON, I KNOW. IT'S HARDER, BEING ONE SENATOR TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK ON THINGS AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO STOP SPENDING BEYOND OUR MEANS BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT PAYING INTEREST ON THIS DEBT, SPENDING MORE ON THE INTEREST ON THE DEBT THAN WE ARE ON NATIONAL DEFENSE. BOTH PARTIES SAY THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT BALANCING THE BUDGET BUT NO ONE EVER DOES. GOVERNORS ARE DIFFERENT. I PASSED THE FIRST BALANCED BUDGET IN TEN YEARS IN MY FIRST YEAR AND THEN BALANCED EVERY YEAR FOR EIGHT YEARS. SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE REALLY CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE THINK IN WASHINGTON. I AGREE WITH MOST PEOPLE WHO FEEL WASHINGTON IS COMPLETELY BROKEN. THAT OUR ENTIRE POLITICAL SYSTEM IS DYSFUNCTIONAL, AND THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. THERE'S NO MAGIC SOLUTION, BUT TRYING TO ACTUALLY GET STRAIGHT TALK AS OPPOSED TO POLITICAL RHETORIC AND, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING DOWN, ROLLING UP YOUR SLEEVES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS. THE ECONOMY AND AFFORDABILITY ARE NUMBER ONE ISSUES OUT THERE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL AND SEEMS AS IF BOTH PEOPLE ARE NOT -- BOTH SIDES ARE NOT REALLY ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE. >> KYRSTEN SINEMA AND JOE MANCHIN BOTH LEAVING THE SENATE. IF YOU ARE ELECTED TO THE SENATE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PLAYING THAT SAME SORT OF ROLE? PUSH BACK HARD AGAINST YOUR PARTY? >> NO QUESTION. I BELIEVE EXACTLY IN THAT KIND OF A ROLE. K DISAPPOINTED MY GOOD FRIENDS ARE LEAVING. CO-CHAIRMAN OF BOTH JOE MANCHIN AND KYRSTEN SINEMA INVOLVED IN THAT GROUP AND MITT ROMNEY LEAVING. WHERE ARE YOU GOING? COMING DOWN THERE TO TRY TO HELP BUILD THIS CON SSENSUS IN THE MIDDLE PROBLEM-SOLVER APPROACH. UNFORTUNATELY REALLY GOOD PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE SENATE SO FED UP WITH THIS DIVISIVE, ANGRY POLITICS AND BROKEN POLITICAL SYSTEM. THEY JUST, WALKING AWAY, AND IT MAY SEEM CRAZY. SORT OF RUNNING INTO THE BURNING BUILDING, BUT I KNOW ONE PERSON CAN'T MAGICALLY FIX THINGS, BUT IF PEOPLE AREN'T WILLING TO STEP UP, THEN WE'RE IN REAL TROUBLE. WISH THEY WERE STILL THERE BUT I'M GOING TO TRY TO BE THE EXACT KIND OF LEAD