Trump-Backed Cox to Face Oprah-Boosted Moore in November’s Maryland Governor Race

Trump-endorsed Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick) cruised to a surprisingly easy victory over a strong party rival backed by a popular Republican governor and outspoken Trump critic to win the July 19 Maryland GOP primary.

Now, the first-term state delegate will take on a charismatic Democratic political newcomer buttressed by Oprah Winfrey in November’s general election.

Cox, a conservative attorney endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was declared the winner in his Republican gubernatorial primary race with former state Labor and Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz two hours after polls closed on July 19.

Schulz was backed by term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who clashed with Trump often while he was in the White House, in a race most expected to be too close to call for days, if not weeks.

But the Trump-Hogan proxy primary proved not to be as competitive as anticipated with Cox leading by 37,000 votes—56 percent—with 77 percent of the tally counted.

He also got a boost from the Democratic Governors Association, which spent more than $1 million on messaging directed at Republicans in support of the conservative, Trump-endorsed Cox over the moderate Schulz. 

The gambit is that Cox is toon conservative to be successful ing a general election in deep blue Maryland.

Cox, 47, vows if elected he would file bills restricting abortions, banning mask and vaccine mandates, eliminating transgender rights, and authorizing a federal audit of 2020 elections.

Dan Cox, candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, along with his wife Valerie Cox, and their five-month-old boy, greet supporters during a primary election night event in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on July 19, 2022. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

He vigorously opposed Maryland’s COVID-19 mitigation measures and challenged the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory after observing mail-in ballot counts in Philadelphia.

Cox’s law firm sued Hogan over COVID-19 restrictions