Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and former President Donald J. Trump’s daughter-in-law, on Sunday denounced Larry Hogan, the Republican Senate candidate in Maryland, for urging Americans to “respect the verdict” against Mr. Trump — criticizing a prized recruit who has given the party a chance of winning a seat that has reliably been held by Democrats.
Late Thursday afternoon, after a Manhattan jury said that it had reached its verdict — but before it had been announced — Mr. Hogan, a former governor of Maryland, posted on social media: “Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders — regardless of party — must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”
That statement was not shocking coming from Mr. Hogan, a moderate Republican who has long been critical of Mr. Trump. But it enraged some supporters of Mr. Trump, who claimed that the trial was rigged because of grievances including its venue in liberal New York City.
Mr. Hogan “doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and quite frankly anybody in America, if that’s the way you feel,” Ms. Trump, who is married to Mr. Trump’s son Eric, said in an interview on CNN — the latest indication of how fealty to Mr. Trump has become a defining test within the Republican Party.
She did not directly answer follow-up questions from the interviewer, Kasie Hunt, about whether the Republican Party would continue to support Mr. Hogan. A spokeswoman for Mr. Hogan did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
“So are you willing to cede the Senate seat in Maryland to the Democratic Party and not support Larry Hogan?” Ms. Hunt asked.
“What I’ll tell you is that we of course want to win as a party, but that is a shame, and I think he should have thought long and hard before he said that publicly,” Ms. Trump said.
Ms. Hunt then asked explicitly whether the Republican Party would use its resources to support Mr. Hogan’s campaign, and Ms. Trump responded, “Well, I’ll get back to you on all the specifics monetarily, but what I can tell you is as the Republican Party co-chair, I think he should never have said something like that. I think that’s ridiculous.”
An R.N.C. official, when asked after Ms. Trump’s interview whether the committee would continue to support Mr. Hogan, also did not give a yes-or-no answer. But she said Mr. Hogan needed to win Trump supporters in Maryland; repeated Mr. Trump’s claims that the trial was rigged, falsely linking it to Mr. Biden; and pointed to a social media post from Chris LaCivita, an adviser to the Trump campaign, who wrote to Mr. Hogan, “You just ended your campaign.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the Senate, was enthused by Mr. Hogan’s unexpected entrance in February, which abruptly gave Republicans a pickup opportunity that they would almost certainly not have had with any other candidate. A spokesman for the N.R.S.C. indicated in response to a request for comment that the group would continue to support Mr. Hogan, even if the R.N.C. didn’t.
The spokesman, Tate Mitchell, referred to a social media post in which a Fox News reporter said the N.R.S.C.’s chairman, Senator Steve Daines of Montana, was standing by Mr. Hogan.
The Maryland Senate seat in question is open because of the retirement of Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic incumbent. Maryland has not elected a Republican to the Senate in more than 40 years, but it twice elected Mr. Hogan as governor, and he left office in 2023 with high approval ratings. He has bucked Republican Party orthodoxy on a few issues, including Mr. Trump and abortion.
