Strategist who helped Hogan launch Change Maryland is starting a new group for the Moore era

Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) spent years plotting his political rise, with mixed success. It wasn’t until he launched an organization called Change Maryland in 2011 that Hogan hit his stride politically, capitalizing on voters’ fatigue over high taxes, activist lawmaking in Annapolis and then-Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in general. Change Maryland focused on taxes and the economy, using Facebook to collect tens of thousands of names and email addresses of disgruntled Marylanders — Democrats and independents as well as Republicans. The advocacy group essentially morphed into Hogan’s campaign organization, propelling the Republican to improbable victory in the 2014 gubernatorial election.