Moore, Cox ready to go again in November

Dan Cox, the 2022 Republican nominee for governor who was soundly beaten in that race, appears headed for a rematch with Gov. Wes Moore (D) after unofficial returns Tuesday showed Cox with a comfortable lead over GOP challenger Ed Hale Sr.

With 95% of precincts voting, Cox had 45% of the vote to Hale’s 36%, according to results posted by the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Hale, a lifelong Democrat turned Republican for this race, thanked his staff, supporters and campaign volunteers in a speech at his campaign watch party in Perry Hall about 10:30 p.m. But he never mentioned Cox by name, and expressed disappointment with Republicans who “were all calling me a RINO [Republican in name only] and Democrat and all that.”

“The Republicans have to do better than what we have,” Hale said to raucous applause. “And if we don’t, it’s going to be a situation where our state is going to deteriorate under someone like Wes Moore.”

When asked if he had any words for his victorious rival, Hale said, “Nothing. You can quote me on that.”

Cox bested Hale and a field of eight other Republicans for the dubious privilege of taking on a well-funded, popular incumbent Democrat for governor this fall. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) greets voters and campaign workers outside the Forest Park Senior Center in Northwest Baltimore with Del. Malcolm Ruff (D-Baltimore City), right. (Photo by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)

Moore, who beat Cox by a 2-1 margin in their first meeting in 2022, won renomination easily, winning almost 88% of the vote to just over 12% for Montgomery County physician Eric Felber, his only Democratic challenger for reelection.

Moore has seen a steady decline in his popularity rating in the last two years, dipping below 50% in a March poll, and he was booed by some fans who attended opening day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 

But the rating does not appear to have hurt his popularity among Democratic voters.

It also does not appear to have hurt his ability to raise money: His campaign committee, Wes Moore for Maryland, reported raising almost $13.8 million, close to the total of the next nine largest committees in the state combined, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. The committee reported having $6.5 million in the bank as of earlier this month.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Moore’s running mate, raised an additional $1.7 million, according the the Board of Elections.

In a statement from his campaign, Moore asked voters to return him and Miller to office, “so we can continue the progress we’ve seen throughout Maryland.”

“We must keep growing our economy, driving down crime, and investing in our public schools, because the past several years have shown us what happens when we work together to do just that,” his statement said. “There is more work to do, but what we’ve done together is just the beginning of what it looks like to build a Maryland that leaves no one behind.”

Moore is well on his way financially to reelection, compared to the Republicans: Hale reported raising $274,500 and having $53,722 on hand, while Cox’s campaign had raised $74,699 and had $30,345 in the bank.

Cox was not daunted Tuesday in a victory speech to his supporters.

“I’m calling to all Democrats, independents and my fellow Republicans who may have voted for our other candidates to unite with purpose to save our state and place it back on the path of safety and opportunity for all,” Cox said.

“We bring hope for change. We bring accountability. We trust in God for our state and we’re running to win and send Gov. Moore back to New York with his elite donors,” he said.

Cox is a lawyer and former one-term Republican delegate who organized transportation for supporters of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, and called Vice President Mike Pence “a traitor” in the midst of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

Moore defeated Cox by 32 points in the 2022 election.

Even so, Moore took to the airwaves during the primary, running ads on Fox News declaring Cox “too conservative” for Maryland. It was an ad some Republicans saw as Moore attempting to push the Republican base toward Cox for a 2026 rematch.Supporters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Hale wait for returns at his election night watch party in Perry Hall. (Photo by Will Hamman/Maryland Matters)

Hale was still insisting Tuesday that he would be the better candidate against Moore.

“I’m just kind of stunned that it’s happened, because I truly thought that I was going to win this,” he said. “I really did, and I was really looking forward to carrying the fight forward against Wes Moore, who is just a terrible, terrible administrator of our state.”

Hale, the Baltimore businessman and owner of the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, was a lifelong Democrat and long a reliable deep-pocketed donor to Democrats in the state. Disenchanted with Moore, he decided to run for governor — but decided to switch parties, acknowledging that he did not think it was possible to beat Moore in a Democratic primary.

His conversion brought skepticism from Republicans and even a brief flirtation with a bid by Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Upper Shore), who called Hale a political opportunist.

Hershey dropped that bid in the spring, however, and in recent months Hale has made point of collecting endorsement from mainstream Republicans as well as members of the hard-right Maryland Freedom Caucus. Baltimore County Republican Dels. Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki, members of the caucus, praised Hale’s business background and his status as a political outsider, at least in GOP circles.

Neither Cox nor Hale opted to participate in the one debate held for Republican candidates for governor. That panel ultimately included only John Myrick, the first to enter the Republican primary, Douglas Larcomb and Shannon Wright.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.