MARYLAND, USA — After eight years of serving the state of Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan is saying goodbye.
“We have come a long way together over the last eight years changing Maryland for the better,” Hogan said.
On Tuesday, Hogan addressed his fellow Marylanders for one last time as governor. He asked for support welcoming in the new administration.
"Next week, we will add yet another important chapter to our state’s history with the inauguration of Maryland’s first Black governor and first Indian-American lieutenant governor," Hogan said. "I ask all Marylanders to join me in wishing Governor-elect Moore, Lieutenant Governor-elect Miller, and their administration much continued success in the years ahead."
He then thanked his family, friends and members of his cabinet for their support as well as the people of Maryland.
"The honor of serving as your governor is second only to the honor of being your fellow Marylander," he said. "I can tell you that there has not been a single day—good or bad—when I was not grateful for the privilege, and I am so proud of all that we accomplished together in our mission to change Maryland for the better."
Hogan claims during his tenure he not only turned the state economy back around, but put people back to work and made the state open for business again, following COVID-related closures.
WATCH: Hogan press conference confirming the first COVID-19 cases in Maryland.
"We eliminated or rewrote thousands of job-killing regulations. We cut taxes eight years in a row by $4.7 billion, putting all of that money back into the pockets of hardworking Maryland families, small businesses, and retirees, and we turned a $5.1 billion deficit into the largest surplus in state history," the outgoing governor said. "We ushered in the biggest economic turnaround in America, and we are leaving the state in a far better fiscal position than ever before in history."
Hogan said his administration did exactly what they said they were going to do and that he had no regrets. But, as always in democracy, he said there is some work that remains unfinished.
"Homicides and violent crime continue to surge in Baltimore City," Hogan admitted. "More must be done to get the most violent criminals off the streets."
He ended his speech with a plea for Americans to come together and not be so divided by their politics.
"America truly is at a critical turning point—one in which the very fate of our democracy could be at stake," he said. "All of the performative politics and angry, false rhetoric threaten not just to divide us politically, but to tear our country apart."
The governor, who is rumored to be considering running as a presidential candidate in 2024, did not comment on his political plans for the future.
WATCH: Hogan's full farewell address
On Jan. 21, 2015, Hogan was sworn in as the 62nd governor of Maryland. In 2018, he was re-elected to a second four-year term, becoming only the second Republican governor to be re-elected in the 242-year history of the state.