Hogan congratulates Biden, Harris on election victory: ‘Everyone should want our president to succeed’

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) encouraged Americans to hope for President-elect Joe Biden’s success following the former vice president’s electoral victory Saturday, with Hogan adding that, “Everyone should want our president to succeed.”

Biden was projected to win the presidency Saturday following news that he had won his home state of Pennsylvania, a victory that lead him to 270 Electoral College votes. 

Multiple news outlets, including CNN, ABC and the Associated Press called the race just before 11:30 a.m., while Fox News followed suit shortly after. 

Hogan took to Twitter within the hour to congratulate Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. 

“Everyone should want our president to succeed because we need our country to succeed. We have great challenges ahead of us as a country. Now more than ever, we need to come together as Americans,” Hogan penned on Twitter.

Congratulations to President-elect Biden. Everyone should want our president to succeed because we need our country to succeed. We have great challenges ahead of us as a country. Now more than ever, we need to come together as Americans.

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) November 7, 2020

Hogan, a vocal Republican critic of President Trump and a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, condemned Trump’s claims in recent days that Democrats are trying to steal the election. The Maryland governor said Thursday that the president was undermining the process of democracy by repeating these allegations.  

Trump has refused to concede defeat, and his campaign earlier this week mounted various legal battles in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia. 

Moderate Republican Gov. Charlie Baker (Mass.), another critic of Trump, also congratulated Biden and Harris Saturday. 

“This has been a long and divisive campaign, but now it is critical for us all to focus on the very real and immediate challenges facing this nation,” Baker wrote on Twitter.  

I congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on their victory.

This has been a long and divisive campaign, but now it is critical for us all to focus on the very real and immediate challenges facing this nation.

— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) November 7, 2020

He added, “because the people of this nation – who came out and voted in record numbers – deserve a government that can work collaboratively to fight COVID-19, rebuild our economy and give people hope that there will be a positive path forward.

On Election Day, Baker said that he left his choice for president blank as he did in 2016.