Two weeks ago, I predicted that, due to Wes Moore’s unpopularity, Dan Cox would exceed his 2022 General Election vote percentage this year.
I think Cox may actually surpass his 2022 campaign slightly, getting maybe somewhere close to 34% of the vote instead of 32%. Basically, Cox is going to get closer to the Republican base vote in 2026 as compared to 2022, a number he failed to achieve during his first campaign for governor.
That did not actually happen.
Though it initially looked like Cox would perform better than 2022, his vote percentage in 2026 failed to achieve that level of desired performance.
I honestly thought that Cox had already reached the nadir for Republicans in 21st Century Maryland, but apparently I was mistaken. It’s hard to say how much of that had to do with Tuesday’s blue tsunami or Cox’s practically non-existent campaign,
No doubt, after losing a third consecutive election, Dan Cox’s next move will be to… run for public office in 2028. I have no doubt Cox is already considering running for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat in 2028 and then Governor in 2030, primaries he would no doubt be favored to win again. Cox likely realizes that while he may not be favored to win elected office again, running for office is effectively free advertising for his law practice.
That seems to be as good a reason as any for Cox to continue to tilt at these windmills, to the detriment of conservatives and taxpayers across the state.1
See Ficker, Robin.