"I didn't want to have it": Hogan responds to Trump endorsement

• "I didn't seek it, I didn't want to have it and I have no interest in it," Hogan said Thursday.
• "It's not something we're going to be promoting, that's for sure," he said.
• Hogan has been a vocal critic of the former president and is vying to become the first GOP candidate in over 30 years to represent Maryland in the Senate.

The big picture: Hogan launched a television ad earlier this week that seeks to emphasize his independence from the national Republican Party, without mentioning the former president by name or the endorsement.

Between the lines: Trump made an exception for Hogan because flipping Maryland's open Senate seat would go a long way in helping Republicans regain control of the Senate, Axios' Sophia Cai previously reported.

• Hogan seems to feel otherwise: "In a state that Donald Trump lost by 33 points, it doesn't really carry a lot of voters over to our cause, so I don't think we're going to have any interest in accepting it."

State of play: Trump endorsed Hogan last week on Fox News.

• "I'd like to see him win. I think he has a good chance to win… I know other people made some strong statements, but I can just say from my standpoint, I'm about the party and I'm about the country. And I would like to see him win," Trump told Fox News.

It was a surprise twist after Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita wrote on X — following Hogan's call for voters to respect the jury's verdict in the New York hush money — "You just ended your campaign."

Go deeper: Trump endorses Larry Hogan in tight Maryland Senate race