Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Father, Republican Who Called for Nixon’s Impeachment, Dies

Lawrence J. Hogan Sr., a Maryland politician who was the first Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee to call for President Nixon’s impeachment, died Thursday at the age of 88.

Current Maryland governor Larry Hogan Jr., Hogan Sr.’s son, announced his father’s passing in a Facebook post. “At 10:24 tonight, an American hero, and the man that I am most proud of, passed away,” Hogan Jr. wrote. “He had an amazing life that spanned 88 years. He leaves behind a loving family, countless friends and admirers, and a lasting legacy that won’t be forgotten.”

After a long career in county and state politics, Hogan Sr. was first elected to Congress in 1968, the Washington Post reports. But his real moment in the national spotlight came in 1974, when one day before the House Judiciary Committee was to begin debate on Nixon’s impeachment, he held a news conference saying he favored ousting the president.

His stand cost him support from the Republican party and his voting base, and he lost the Republican gubernatorial primary a month after Nixon resigned. “I assumed that in coming out for impeachment I would lose the nomination, which I did,” Hogan said in 1987. “It had absolutely nothing to do with politics. I still resent people saying that now.”

Hogan Jr. said during his inauguration as Maryland’s governor that he learned from his father’s example, the Baltimore Sun reports. “I probably learned more about integrity in one day when my dad read that vote,” he said, “than most people learn in a lifetime.”