The primary was a toss-up between former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Cox, and Hogan, who endorsed his former Commerce Secretary, Kelly Schultz. That Hogan had won two terms in Maryland was a feat: Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state two to one. the state hasn’t endorsed a GOP presidential candidate since 1988. But Hogan is seen as one of the GOP’s most moderate figures. Cox has sparked fears of voter fraud. He said in December 2020 on Facebook that Trump needs to understand the voting machines. He chartered three buses for Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington. And amid the uproar, he tweeted: “Pence is a traitor.” He has also threatened to sue over mail-in ballots. Democrats believe Cox poses a much easier matchup in the general election than Schultz would have. The Democratic Governors Association spent more than $1 million on television ads highlighting Trump’s support and Cox’s more conservative positions — a tactic intended to boost Cox’s Republican support but diminish his standing among moderates ahead of of the November general election. Those points underscored his opposition to gun restrictions and abortion rights and his support of Trump. One calls Cox “too close to Trump, too conservative for Maryland.” Schultz, in a press conference with Hogan last month, said Democrats are trying to “spend a million now and save $5 million because they don’t have to face me in the general election.” Cox’s victory came as election officials had begun a weeks-long process of counting ballots, with races still to be decided that will test Democratic voters’ views of the party establishment and Republicans’ willingness to hang on to what has been a GOP winning formula in deep blue state. The polls closed at 8 p.m. ET, and county officials could not begin processing the record number of mail-in primary ballots until in-person voting was completed. The marquee contest on Tuesday’s Maryland primary ballot was the governor’s race. Hogan, who is among the most moderate figures in his party and a frequent critic of Trump, is barred by term limits from seeking re-election. His departure has turned the primary into the governor’s race — one taking place in a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by roughly two to one, but where the GOP has held the governor’s office for 12 of the last 20 years — – a window into the biggest battles unfolding in both parties on the national stage. Democrats saw a wide field of 10 candidates — a field that included Perez, Oprah Winfrey-backed Moore, state Comptroller Peter Franschot, former U.S. Education Secretary John King and Doug Gansler, former U.S. attorney general Maryland and failed gubernatorial candidate in 2014. The gubernatorial primary is the most closely watched contest on Tuesday in Maryland, where the election was delayed three weeks by disputes over the state’s legislative maps. Election results may take days or even weeks to be finalized. According to the Maryland Board of Elections, more than 508,000 people requested mail-in ballots — shattering previous records for a primary election. Counties can’t begin counting those ballots until Thursday, and election officials say some counties could still be counting mail-in ballots in the first week of August.
Gubernatorial primaries
Several gubernatorial candidates would make history in a state that has only ever elected a white man as its chief executive. Perez, the former DNC chair, emphasized his national experience as well as his local roots. He is a former Montgomery County councilman and was Maryland’s secretary of labor before joining former President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice as assistant attorney general for civil rights and later as Obama’s US secretary of labor. A Perez ad used Obama’s previous comments about Perez, with the former President calling Perez “tireless” and “badass.” Moore, meanwhile, aired a Winfrey-voiced ad in which the TV star calls Moore a friend and goes through his resume. Winfrey calls Moore “the type of transformational leader these times call for.” On a hot election day in Maryland, voters filed their ballots. Portia Thompson, who said she has been voting since 1974, voted for Perez at the Colmar Manor Community Center and Town Hall. “I think he would represent everybody. African-Americans, Latinos, everybody. He also worked in President Obama’s administration, so I thought he had the experience,” Thompson said of Perez.
Under the ballot
The outcome of another major race was also clear Tuesday night: Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen easily fended off a Democratic primary challenge Tuesday, according to a CNN projection. Van Hollen, who suffered a mild stroke in May, defeated a primary challenge from Michelle Smith, a Freedom of Information Act policy analyst at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Ten Republicans are vying for the winner of this primary, but Van Hollen is heavily favored to win a second term. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who is the House’s No. 2 member, also won his primary, according to CNN. CNN has predicted that Rep. Anthony Brown will win the Democratic primary in the Maryland attorney general race. Brown, the lieutenant governor under former Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is leaving his U.S. House seat after three terms, defeated O’Malley’s wife, Katie Curran O’Malley, a former district court judge in Baltimore. The primary in the attorney general race is essentially the general election in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the position in more than 100 years. (A Republican, Edward Rollins, was appointed to the position in 1952.) Brown, a Harvard-educated former military lawyer, would become the first black man to serve as Maryland’s attorney general. He was endorsed by VoteVets, which supports Democratic candidates with military experience. The group aired television ads criticizing O’Malley for her accusation that Brown “doesn’t have the right experience for the job.” One of Maryland’s eight congressional seats is open this fall: The Democratic 4th District seat, currently held by Brown, features former Rep. Donna Edwards facing former Prince George’s State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey in the Democratic primaries. Edwards has high-profile supporters including Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Ivey is being boosted by ads attacking Edwards from the super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Thompson said she decided to vote for Glenn Ivey in the 4th District race because she thinks he is an “outstanding gentleman.” “I don’t have a bad opinion of Donna Edwards, but I like Glenn Ivey and his family. I like his wife. She’ll come and sit on your porch and talk to you,” he said. Marcela Orellano, 38, was at the East County Community Recreation Center in Silver Spring at 9:30 a.m. because she is “terrified about the presidential election.” While she said there isn’t a particular candidate she’s particularly excited about in the Maryland primary, she wants to see change and is concerned about gun laws, women’s rights and immigration policies. “I want to make sure I make a difference at least at the state level. I’m looking for Democrats to fight for the things that are important to me,” Orellano said. Sharda Ramdat, a 46-year-old mother, said gun violence and abortion rights are her top priorities. “I worry about my kids every day and I feel like there’s no place where you can have a moment in your own space. This is a big deal. I really want change, especially with gun laws,” she said. Ramdat said she was excited for Moore and thinks he’s the best because he “had a tough life growing up” and “would understand where the middle class and poor people are coming from.” Robin Jones, 68, said affordable housing is one of her top priorities and that she is more focused on local issues that affect her community. “I went to work at the phone company at 17 and could afford an apartment for $125 a week. Now an apartment is the same amount as a mortgage and there’s nowhere for people to live,” Jones said.
