Who is Dan Cox, Maryland’s proposed Republican gubernatorial nominee?

When rioters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he called Vice President Mike Pence “a traitor” in a tweet that he then deleted – and later regretted his choice of words.

Now, Cox is set to become the Republican nominee for governor in November to replace the outgoing Hogan. With the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, he beat Kelly M. Schulz, the former Secretary of Commerce, in a race marked by deep divisions across the country between members of the GOP establishment and supporters of former President Donald Trump.

“This is a fantastic night for freedom everywhere,” Cox told a cheering crowd as he announced the win.

[Cox projected to win Maryland’s gubernatorial primary]

Cox also got an unusual hand from the Democratic Governors Association, which has been spending money in Maryland — and other primaries around the country — to bolster candidates she hopes are too extreme to win the general election.

[Democratic meddling in GOP primaries prompts concern over elevating election deniers]

“It may be Maryland, but Republicans are Republicans, and Trump is incredibly popular among Republicans, and he’s immensely popular with the party’s grassroots,” Todd Eberly, a professor of political science at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said of the Republican primary . “Cox is the perfect candidate for a grassroots election when most people aren’t paying attention.”

Cox beat Schulz by 16 points late Tuesday night, with nearly 70 percent of the vote reported, according to the Associated Press.

[Full Maryland primary results]

Cox, 47, championed far-right positions he hoped would lead him to victory, like Doug Mastriano did in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary: drastic restrictions on abortion, banning mask and vaccine mandates for the coronavirus, fight against transgender rights and call for a federal audit of the 2020 elections.

Similar to Mastriano, Cox chartered buses for the Trump rally near the White House that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. They both attended a conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania earlier this spring that promoted QAnon and unsubstantiated claims about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. According to published reports, Cox was accompanied there by Liz Harrington, a spokeswoman for Trump and Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis.

Schulz’s campaign has called Cox “unstable” and “unfit for office.” Last year, Hogan, her former boss, called it a “QAnon whack job.” Meanwhile, in a recent phone call with Cox supporters, Trump called Cox “a highly respected attorney who’s tough and smart … Dan is MAGA through and through. Unlike his opponent named Kelly Schulz who shares bad news with Larry Hogan.”

Cox, who did not respond to earlier calls for comment, told hundreds – including Mastriano and former US Senate nominee Alan Keyes – who recently gathered at a Carroll County farm in the sweltering summer heat that his campaign, which is run by one of his daughters, the Schulz campaign, which has been heavily pocketed, is outdated.

“We’re ahead in the polls, we’re strong, we’re organized. … We’re getting the message out,” he said.

He asked his supporters a series of questions based on his platform. Who of them believed, like his opponent, did he ask that the events of January 6th were an insurrection and that Trump was responsible? The crowd booed. Who would have thought it would be acceptable to offer taxpayer-funded abortions to trafficked women from other states and countries? The crowd yelled, “No!”

“We’re going to fund taxpayer-funded abortions,” Cox said to jubilation.

Cox said he also wants to see changes in the state’s gun control laws, including gun licensing laws, a red flag law allowing the confiscation of guns from those deemed a danger to themselves or others, and a ghost gun law barring assembly of homemade firearms is prohibited.

“I intend to change all of that,” said the Frederick County single-term delegate. “These are our freedoms; these are our rights. You can’t take them from us. This is how we protect ourselves. With the unrest that’s happened, we should have something to defend our families with.”

He urged his supporters to donate to his campaign (he had $188,000 available in recent filings, compared to Schulz’s $784,900) and step up their outreach to “crush the party’s liberal wing.” .

Cox, who was first elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 2018, is one of the most conservative figures in the state legislature.

In the past year he has been the main sponsor of bills restricting abortion; limit the governor’s authority in states of emergency; and require schools to provide parents with information about the health and well-being of their children. Child protection advocates have argued that in some cases – including child abuse cases – schools’ reporting of children could expose children to additional harm.

According to his legislative biography, Cox graduated from Regent University School of Law in 2006. Born in Washington, he attended Walkersville Christian Family Schools, where he later became a teacher. He has also worked as a real estate agent but now runs his own law firm, which Hogan is suing over coronavirus restrictions and stay-at-home orders during the pandemic. He also represented a Harford County man who was suing local officials for arresting him at a polling station for not wearing a mask during the pandemic.

“I’m the only candidate willing to give people their freedom back,” Cox told the rally, calling the 2020 election a fraud and planting a “stop the steal” seed for the upcoming Maryland election. “I’m an America First Republican. We will win.”