Donald Trump’s preferred candidate, Republican Dan Cox, won the Maryland gubernatorial primary Tuesday, demonstrating the former president’s continued sway over the party by defeating outgoing governor Larry Hogan’s chosen successor.
Cox’s 16-point victory is seen as a win for the former president in a proxy war against the term-limited Hogan, who established himself as one of the most vehement Republican critics of the Trump administration during his time in office.
Hogan rallied behind Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Schulz, who worked in his administration as labor secretary and commerce secretary, while Trump endorsed Cox, a House of Delegates member who disputed the results of the 2020 election and called former vice president Mike Pence a “traitor” in a since-deleted tweet. Cox also worked to bus protesters to Washington, D.C., for the January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally.
Cox will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the November election. As of Wednesday morning, Wes Moore, an author endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, led by over ten points in the competitive race. The winner in the contested race may take days to determine, as Maryland law prohibits mail-in ballots from being counted until Thursday after the election.
The Trump-backed candidate appeared to allude to his longstanding rivalry with Hogan over COVID-19 lockdown policies in his victory speech.
“We will never again give over our bodies, our churches and our businesses to a lockdown state,” Cox said.
Cox wanted to impeach Hogan over his pandemic policies.
Trump celebrated Cox’s win, calling Hogan a RINO, a Republican in name only, in a statement Tuesday.
“RINO Larry Hogan’s Endorsement doesn’t seem to be working out so well for his heavily favored candidate. Next, I’d love to see Larry run for President!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Cox’s win is also seen as a possible victory for the Democrats, who believe him to be far-right and an easier candidate to defeat compared to Schulz in November.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA), the top organization working to boost Democratic gubernatorial candidates, spent nearly $2 million dollars funding ads in favor of Cox.
“We can’t let Dan Cox turn Maryland into MAGAland, which is why the DGA has been holding him accountable for weeks and will continue to ensure we defeat him and his dangerous agenda in November,” the DGA said in a statement Tuesday.