Emails dispel failed MAGA gubernatorial candidate’s claim he doesn’t know who put his name in race for Congress

When far-right MAGA election denialist Dan Cox won Maryland's 2022 gubernatorial nomination, then-Gov. Larry Hogan (a conservative non-MAGA Republican) made no secret of how disappointed he was. Hogan slammed Cox as a "QAnon conspiracy theorist," predicting that he would lose badly in the general election.

Hogan was right: Cox lost to Democratic now-Gov. Wes Moore by 32 percent. It isn't hard to understand why Hogan, a two-term GOP governor in a deep blue state, was so frustrated, as he knew that going far-right in a statewide race would not work in Maryland.

In an article published on July 18, the Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger reports that e-mails and texts show Cox "planned a congressional bid since at least mid-June" — and "isn't being up-front about it."

"Dan Cox, the right-winger who lost the Maryland governor's race last year, has been telling the press that he doesn’t know who was behind a July 3 statement of candidacy in his name," Sollenberger reports. "He even said he alerted the Federal Election Commission to the matter. It should be a short investigation: The person was the treasurer Cox had hired to do just that…. The e-mails, which were exchanged last month between Cox adviser Rory McShane and professional political accountant Tom Datwyler, show McShane took several steps on Cox's behalf to set up the campaign committee."

Sollenberger adds, "At one point, McShane gave the green light to an official 'Dan Cox for Congress' online WinRed fundraising ad, which, as of this report, is still live. The two men also agreed on when Datwyler should file the statement of candidacy and open the campaign."

Cox, according to Sollenberger, "told Maryland Matters, on July 3, that he didn't know the story behind the filing, but claimed that he hadn't ruled out a 2024 congressional run."

Sollenberger reports, "'We didn't make a decision,' Cox told Maryland Matters on July 3, adding, 'I'd like to know who did this.' A text message from McShane to Datwyler the next morning reveals that not only had Cox apparently already made a decision — not to run —but that Datwyler hadn't known about the change in plans. A source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast that McShane had failed to relay the decision to Datwyler before the treasurer submitted the statement of candidacy."

After losing to Moore in November 2022, Cox landed a new position a few months later when another failed Republican gubernatorial candidate — Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano — hired him as chief of staff. Mastriano, like Cox, is a far-right conspiracy theorist and a MAGA election denialist. In the 2022 midterms, Mastriano lost to Democratic now-Gov. Josh Shapiro by 15 percent.