Trump-endorsed Cox wins Maryland GOP governor primary
First-term state Del. Dan Cox was projected to win the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary, fending off a challenge from former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz, Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) preferred candidate.
The Associated Press called the race at 11:02 p.m. ET.
Cox touted his experience as a state delegate, small businessman and constitutional attorney. The Trump endorsee also previously made a bid for a congressional seat in the state’s 8th Congressional District, later losing to then-state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D).
Schulz, meanwhile. touted her experience working under Hogan as both a former commerce secretary and labor secretary in addition to her experiences serving in the Maryland House of Delegates.
The former Hogan administration official’s campaign platform included backing law enforcement, supporting parents involvement in education curriculum and fighting efforts to raise taxes. Cox’s platform mirrored some of Schulz’s, but they also included his anti-abortion stance, supporting Second Amendment rights and fighting gerrymandering, among others.
Cox has said that “Mike Pence is traitor” and organized buses for those to attend former President Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, according to The Washington Post. Hogan, who is term-limited, has called Cox a “Q-Anon conspiracy theorist.”
The gubernatorial race has been considered a proxy war between Trump and Hogan, who have each backed separate challengers and is seen as a test of whether more establishment Republicans can succeed against Trump-endorsed and more hardline members of their party.
A Goucher College Poll found that 25 percent of likely Republican voters would back Cox while 22 percent would back Schulz, though the poll came within the margin of error, effectively tying the two among voters.
Source: TEST FEED1
