Democrats are attempting to secure a blue win in the Maryland governor’s race by throwing their support behind an unusual candidate in the primaries: Trump-backed Republican candidate Dan Cox.
The Democratic Governors Association, the top organization that assists Democratic candidates in gubernatorial elections, has spent nearly $1 million to run advertisements boosting Cox ahead of the primary — hoping to set up a general election challenge with someone it believes will be a weaker opponent for the Democrats in November, according to Fox News. The financial backing highlights the sharp divide among Republicans in Maryland as they seek to defend the seat held by Gov. Larry Hogan.
MIDTERM MEMO: TRUMP AND HOGAN WAGE PROXY WAR IN MARYLAND REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY
While former President Donald Trump has endorsed Cox, Hogan, a frequent Trump critic, has thrown his support behind Republican challenger Kelly Schulz, a former state lawmaker who served in Hogan’s administration. The governor has also taken aim at Cox in the weeks leading up to the primary, telling Fox News he is a “crazy guy” who has “no business whatsoever running for governor and has no ability to win a race.”
“Trump is supporting this crazy guy, and the Democrats are colluding with it,” Hogan said. “The Democrats are spending a lot of money trying to nominate the least electable people, and they’re having some success, but you know, we call them out.”
Trump fired back, accusing Hogan in a statement of being a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, and saying Cox is the only one to end the “terrible RINO reign by defeating his ‘Never Trump’ successor, another low-energy RINO, Kelly Schulz.”
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Schulz has taken advantage of Democrats throwing their support behind Cox, arguing the party is “meddling in our primary because they know that I am the only Republican who can win in November.”
The tension comes just one week before the primary elections in Maryland in which Cox and Schulz are the two front-runners in the race for the GOP nomination. The Democrats face more of an uphill challenge because they are tasked with narrowing down a packed primary with nine candidates.
