Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has ruled out running for Senate in 2022, extinguishing Republicans’ hopes that he would help the party gain an upper hand in Washington.

       For months, GOP power brokers and some moderate senators had courted Hogan, hoping to lure the popular, term-limited governor into challenging Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). A victory would help shift the balance of power in the Senate.

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       Hogan had poured cold water on the idea — saying last month, “I don’t have a burning desire to serve in the U.S. Senate” — but did not firmly quash it until Tuesday.

       “I will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate,” Hogan said at an Annapolis news conference. “A number of people said that they thought I could make a difference in the Senate and be a voice of common sense and moderation. I was certainly humbled by that, and it gave me and my family reason to consider it. But as I have repeatedly said, I don’t aspire to be a United States senator, and that fact has not changed.”

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       Hogan is the second Republican governor to rebuff recent overtures from national party leaders. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced in November he would seek a fourth term rather than challenge Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).

       Polling showed Hogan had a decent shot at converting the reliably Democratic seat, and the governor said Tuesday he was confident he would win.

       “Just because you can win a race doesn’t mean that’s the job you should do if your heart’s not in it,” Hogan said. “And I just didn’t see myself being a U.S. senator.”

       Hogan, 65, has built a national profile over the past three years. He has weighed running for president — in 2020 and 2024 — written a memoir, traveled to campaign for congressional candidates, formed a political action committee, co-chaired the political advocacy group No Labels, met with donors and worked the national television circuit, often as a critic of Donald Trump.

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       An array of powerful figures in the party bent Hogan’s ear about challenging Van Hollen in deeply Democratic Maryland, which has only one Republican in its congressional delegation, Rep. Andy Harris. The state has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in four decades, since Charles “Mac” Mathias’s final term in 1981.

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       Hogan said he notified Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who runs the Senate’s election campaign arm, that he would not run. He also told Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), who had encouraged him.

       “I also spoke with Senator Van Hollen, to let him know he can rest easy and get a good night’s sleep tonight,” Hogan said with a chuckle.

       Democrats painted Hogan’s announcement as evidence of Republican weakness.

       “Senate Republicans are suffering a series of humiliating recruitment failures because their potential candidates know they cannot defeat strong Senate Democrats,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement.

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       Hogan continues to entertain running for president, though he has said he will not launch a campaign if he cannot see a path to winning the nomination. On Tuesday, he reiterated that his decision to seek the presidency would hinge on family and political considerations — and not on whether Trump was running.

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       “It would be based on whether I could make a difference,” he said. “I wouldn’t care whether the former president runs or not.”

       Hogan said that as he worked on last week’s State of the State speech, “it drove home” how much he wanted to keep his promise to residents.

       “When I pledged to the people of Maryland that I was to give this job as governor everything I’ve got, every single day that I have been given, I meant it. And that commitment is far more important to me than any political campaign,” Hogan said, adding that he will assess his political future after his term ends in January 2023.