In Maryland governor’s race, Cox wins Republican nomination

Maryland state Del. Dan Cox, backed by former President Donald Trump, beat Kelly Schulz in the Republican primary for governor Tuesday. Mail-in ballots are still being counted, but preliminary results on election day showed Cox with about 56 percent of the Republican vote to Schulz’s 40 percent. Cox sued the governor, Larry Hogan, in 2020 over the COVID-19 lockdown order and tried to impeach him in 2021 for executive overreach. He also opposed the 2020 election results, writing in a tweet that has since been deleted that Vice President Mike Pence was a “traitor.” His opponent, Schulz, was backed by Hogan, who has been outspoken against Trump.

Who will be his opponent? Wes Moore, a bestselling author backed by Oprah Winfrey, was the Democratic nominee in the lead Wednesday, but it could be days before the winner is announced. Maryland prohibits counting mail-in ballots until the Thursday after election day. Earlier in the election, the Democratic Governors Association spent almost $1 million on an ad intended to promote Cox to conservative voters because the party saw him as easier to beat in November.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel Darling’s column in WORLD Opinions on America’s next electoral shift.

Editor’s note: WORLD has corrected this report to note the sponsor of the political ad about Dan Cox, when it ran, and the content of the ad. WORLD has also corrected the dates of Cox’s lawsuit and impeachment efforts against Gov. Larry Hogan.