Maryland has elected a Republican governor for the second time since Spiro Agnew finished his term in 1969. Republican candidate Larry Hogan won 51.6 percent of the counties, while Democratic candidate and former Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown received 46.9 percent of the vote according to Politco.com. Hogan also won 20 of the 23 counties.

According to Delmarvanow.com, Brown was leading in the polls all the way up to election day by at least four percent. The Washington Post called it “a shocking upset.” A similar upset occurred when Republican Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn in Illinois, a predominantly Democratic state.

The Maryland Gubernatorial attracted national attention. President Barack Obama stopped in Maryland to support Brown and urged Marylanders to cast their votes for Brown. First Lady Michelle Obama also visited Maryland to try to aid the Brown Campaign. Hogan was supported by New Jersey governor and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Chris Christie.

“I was shocked,” AP Government teacher Brian Powell said. “I did not see that coming. I was concerned when Michelle Obama was there on the last day. Conservative media played that up, but I didn’t believe the hype, but apparently it was true.”

Powell said he was most surprised by the margin of victory. The last time a Republican, Bob Ehrlich, won the Maryland Gubernatorial election, he only won by about four percent. Hogan won by about 6 percent.

“Hogan brings a business background that might be a breath of fresh air. He reminds me a little of a Massachusetts governor. That was Mitt Romney,” Powell said.

Senior Micaela Powers participated in this election, casting her vote for Larry Hogan. “It was exciting because the guy I voted for won,” she said.

Powers explains why she supported Hogan by saying, “I saw a news clip of Anthony Brown being very rude to a reporter and that skewed me away from him. Also I supported more of the same things as Hogan.”

Sophomore JP Laponzina supported Brown saying, “He [Brown] didn’t oppose universal pre-k like Hogan did. He seems like a morally right guy and would do the right thing. And he’s a veteran which means he knows what it means to actually fight.”

“I was kinda upset that Maryland didn’t pull through,” Laponzina said in reaction to the election results.

Justin Hawkins is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.