Delegate Dan Cox, a Republican politician who represents district 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates, defeated former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz to win the Republican nomination for Maryland Governor. Cox was endorsed by former President Donald Trump while Schulz was endorsed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. With 2043 of 2074 Election Day precincts reporting, Cox has received 132,463 (56.22%) while Shulz has received 94,877 (40.27%). Disbarred Montgomery County attorney Robin Ficker came in third with 5,062 (2.15%) votes. The Associated Press called the election in Cox’s favor at approximately 11pm on Tuesday night.
Cox has stated he has been active in politics since 1980, when he campaigned with his parents for Ronald Reagan. He also worked on the 1996 presidential campaign of Alan Keyes and as an aide to former U.S. Representative Roscoe Bartlett. From 2007 to 2009, he was the President of the Town Commission of Secretary, Maryland, located in Dorchester County. He was the Republican nominee for Dorchester County Circuit Court Clerk in 2006, losing the race to Democratic nominee Michael L. Baker. Co was also the Republican nominee for Maryland’s 8th congressional district in 2016, losing the race to Democratic nominee and state senator Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County.
Cox made waves last year when he referred to former Vice President Mike Pence a “traitor” during the 2021 United States Capitol Attack. Last month, in June, Cox stated that his tweet was “his way of expressing his disappointment and not a personal attack on the vice president”. He will go on to face the Democratic nominee, who has yet to be decided, with Wes Moore (137,584, 36.74%) currently leading Tom Perez (102,461, 27.36%) in the primary.