2024 Watch: GOP Gov. Larry Hogan endorses Dem Baltimore prosecutor's tough-on-crime primary challenger

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Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Thursday endorsed the Democratic challenger for Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, an unusual move that could bolster his bipartisan and tough-on-crime credentials.

"For far too long, violent criminals have been allowed to terrorize the streets of Baltimore with impunity," Hogan said in a statement endorsing Democrat Thiru Vignarajah to be Baltimore City's state's attorney. 

"Every single day, the people of Baltimore pay a steep price for that failure with lost loved ones, terrified families, and countless lost potential. This crisis rises above partisan politics. It’s not about right or left. It’s about right and wrong," Hogan continued. "As governor, there is nothing more important to me than the safety of our communities. Thiru Vignarajah will restore trust, hold violent criminals accountable, and make our streets safer."

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Hogan for years has clashed with Baltimore officials over the city's crime rates, including a highly publicized tiff with former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake during the 2015 Freddie Gray riots. 

Gov. Larry Hogan at the Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis, on July 22, 2020.  (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The Republican governor more recently has butted heads with Mosby, over what he alleges is her soft-on-crime approach, as Baltimore deals with one of the highest crime rates in the U.S. 

That disagreement came to a head late last year with a not-so-friendly public exchange between the two. 

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"She's a big part of the problem," Hogan told "Fox News Sunday" in December. "We have a prosecutor in Baltimore City that refuses to prosecute violent criminals and that's at the root of the problem." 

"We, the people that live in the city of Baltimore, are not naïve enough to believe that your attacks come from any form of sincere concern about the problems we face," Mosby shot back in an open letter. "Rather, your actions are purely political, which is why you continue your incessant dog-whistling attacks about Baltimore crime, which contrasts with your deafening silence on the increased crime in the rest of the state." 

Mayoral candidate Thiru Vignarajah during a news conference on Oct. 14, 2019, in Baltimore.  (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/TNS/ABACAPRESS.COM/Reuters)

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Hogan's endorsement of Vignarajah, who is attacking Mosby over Baltimore's crime rates, also comes as the governor is widely considered a likely 2024 GOP presidential candidate. 

The endorsement also could help Vignarajah with a key constituency in the majority-minority Baltimore City – a Gonzales Polls, Inc., survey in January showed that Hogan has a 79.9% approval rating with African-Americans. 

"Fighting violent crime is supposed to be the job of local leaders. For eight years, the governor has done his best to support the city in its battle against violent crime. But Governor Hogan knows that without leadership at the local level, this fight is infinitely harder than it needs to be," Vignarajah said. 

"In a moment of crisis like this, public safety must come before partisan politics. I am honored and overwhelmed by the Governor’s endorsement, which follows in the best traditions of our city and state," he added. 

Maryland State Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks during a news conference in Baltimore in December 2019.  (AP/Julio Cortez)

Hogan is term-limited as the governor of Maryland and will leave office after this year. He declined to run for Senate against incumbent Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who is up for reelection this year, despite overtures from Senate Republicans.  

But he has been active on the national political scene, as recently as Tuesday calling out President Biden over the fact he's considering getting oil from Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro to lower domestic gas prices. 

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Hogan also is planning trips to Iowa and New Hampshire – key presidential primary states – in the coming months, according to FOX 5 DC.

The governor told Fox News his decision not to run for the Senate this year "does not mean that I plan to sit on the sidelines when it comes to the serious challenges facing our country and our democracy. I'm going to continue to call it like I see it, and I'll keep speaking out about the divisiveness and dysfunction in Washington and about fixing the broken politics." 

Hogan added: "My current job as governor runs until January 2023, and then we'll take a look and see what the future holds after that."