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During a news conference Wednesday morning, Republican Governor-elect Larry Hogan recounted a phone call with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). Hogan beat Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in Maryland's gubernatorial race Tuesday night. (AP)

Republican businessman Larry Hogan pulled off a stunning upset in heavily Democratic Maryland on Tuesday, winning the governors race against Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown by relentlessly promising to roll back tax increases and chart a new direction for the state.

Shortly after midnight, Brown conceded a race that he lost despite the strong support of the states Democratic establishment and visits to Maryland in the closing weeks of the campaign by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Hogans victory a repudiation of the eight-year tenure of Gov. Martin OMalley (D) means that Annapolis will return to divided government for the first time since 2006. It remains to be seen how much Hogan and his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Boyd Rutherford, will be able to accomplish with a Democratic-controlled legislature. Their victory sent a strong message that Marylanders had grown weary of the tax increases enacted under OMalley, which Hogan harped on throughout the campaign.

Wow, what a historic night in Maryland, Hogan said to a screaming crowd at his victory party in Annapolis. They said it couldnt be done here in Maryland. But together, we did it.

Hogan said he received a very gracious call from Brown, and he asked his supporters to give a round of applause to the lieutenant governor and to OMalley. Instead, they chanted, Larry! Larry! Larry! Hogan also said he received a phone call from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who visited Maryland four times on his behalf.

Hogan, the owner of an Anne Arundel County real estate business, had argued that electing Brown would be tantamount to giving OMalley a third term. Touting his private-sector negotiating skills, Hogan has pledged to do more to work with Democratic legislative leaders than the states previous GOP governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who had an acrimonious four years in Annapolis.

With more than 90percent of precincts reporting, Brown was winning handily in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, and he was well ahead in the city of Baltimore. But turnout appeared fairly low in those populous jurisdictions. And Hogan led everywhere else, including in the Baltimore suburbs. That was the region that in 2002 paved the way to victory for Ehrlich, who hired Hogan as a member of his Cabinet.

Tonight, we fell short of our campaign goals, Brown told supporters at what turned out to be a subdued gathering at the University of Maryland at College Park. It was a tough campaign. But it was tough because theres a lot at stake, a lot worth fighting for.

Brown, the son of a Jamaican father and a Swiss mother, was attempting to become the first African American governor of Maryland and only the third elected anywhere in the nation. He would also have been Marylands first lieutenant governor to ascend to the states top job.

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Republican Larry Hogan wins Md. governors race in stunning upset