Hale charges Moore and other Democrats with recycling an old strategy to meddle in the GOP primary by boosting Dan Cox, the 2022 Republican nominee and a Trump acolyte whom Moore defeated by more than 32 points in 2022.

“The governor of our state is manipulating the election to get everybody out except for Dan Cox,” Hale told reporters in the days leading up to the primary. “Dan Cox has run continuously for many things. I hate to even mention his name because he’s lost at everything he’s done.”

Hale’s running mate, Tyrone Keys, was blunter.

“Wes Moore beat Dan Cox like a rented mule in 2022, and he’d do it again,” Keys said. “He is afraid of Ed Hale. He doesn’t want to run against him.”

Cox positions himself as the true conservative. The former state lawmaker garnered Trump’s support in 2022, but the president has focused his attention on gubernatorial races elsewhere this cycle that, in some cases, have become rare black marks on his endorsement record.

Cox condemned what he called the “dirty and disgusting tactic” of Democrats funding campaign materials seeking to influence the primary in his favor. Those include ads from Moore’s campaign that declare Cox “too conservative” and highlight his past praise from Trump. In 2022, Maryland Democrats and Moore were accused of deploying a similar strategy to promote Cox over Republican rival Kelly Schulz, a former Hogan administration official.

“Caring enough to change Maryland for the better is not too conservative, it’s common sense because Wes Moore is too expensive, too dangerous and too incompetent,” Cox wrote on social media.

He concluded in a lengthy post: “In short we want NO MOORE.”

Neither Hale nor Cox responded to inquiries.

In TV ads, mailers, and comments to the media, Maryland Democrats frame the GOP contest as a “clear battle between MAGA and a RINO,” or Republican In Name Only, a label used by some Republicans to accuse someone of being insufficiently conservative.

Another Moore campaign ad warns Hale “can’t be trusted” because he was a “lifelong Democrat” who switched parties to “trick everyone.”

The Moore campaign insisted it has no candidate preference and that the first-term governor will prevail against either Republican, despite its ads that are designed to portray Cox as more favorable to GOP voters.

“We’re not going to take anything for granted, no matter who we’re running against,” Moore spokesman Carter Elliott said in a statement. “Whoever wins the Republican primary will be met with the strongest coordinated campaign Maryland has ever seen, and we will work day and night to make sure in November that voters know what they stand for.”

Moore has consistently ruled out a 2028 presidential run and says he’s focused on winning reelection, but his rhetoric has done little to tamp down speculation. Moore is set to face little resistance in the November general election in a state that’s tilted further left in recent cycles despite his bleeding approval ratings, and a convincing victory in 2026 could fuel presidential murmurs.

The Maryland Republican Party is neutral in the primary, which also includes several other lesser-known candidates. But while Hale and Cox are considered the favorites, the primary is viewed among Republicans as a true toss-up that has limited public polling. Both potential nominees would face challenges to overcome in the general, most notably Cox’s ability to win over centrist and Democratic voters. Hale, whose campaign centers on a vision of pragmatism, would need to turn out a base that may see him as a RINO.

“This is when you get to vote for the person who is closest to you or the person who you believe can win in November,” said Maryland Republican Party Chair Nicole Beus Harris, the wife of the state’s only GOP congressman, Rep. Andy Harris. “This is the time when your vote truly does count.”

In a statement, the state Democratic Party further tied Cox to Trump and Hale to Democrats.

“Hale told Marylanders he’s ‘not a Donald Trump guy.’ And, on the other side of this race, you’ve got Dan Cox who has been a lifelong Republican and an ally to Donald Trump,” Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Steuart Pittman said. “Ed Hale is working overtime to get Maryland Republicans to forget he was a lifelong Democratic donor and adviser, but I don’t think they’re going to buy what he’s selling.”

WES MOORE ROLLS OUT COMMENCEMENT TOUR IN BATTLEGROUND TERRITORY

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a close ally to Moore, declined to weigh in on the Republican contest that others in his party have seemed eager to influence.

“I try my very best to stay out of Republican primaries,” Van Hollen, a rising contender for Senate leadership who’s even mulling a presidential run, told the Washington Examiner. “Let them choose. I’m sure that Wes Moore will be prepared to take on and win.”