According to a report from the Washington Post, Donald Trump's influence on primary elections will once again be on display this week as Maryland voters go to the polls and Republicans in the state worry the former president's choice will come out on top -- only to lose badly in November.
At issue is a bitter fight between Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's handpicked choice, former cabinet secretary Kelly Schulz, and single-term Maryland lawmaker Dan Cox who Schulz has alternately called a "wack job," a "nut" and a "pathological liar."
This past week, Trump once again weighed in on the race in a conference call to activists stating, “You don’t want Hogan’s anointed successor. Anybody he wants, frankly, I’d be against just on that basis alone.”
The war between the two GOP candidates, with Trump attempting to put his finger on the scales in a tough fight, has Republicans worried about a blowout in November in a state that went for President Joe Biden by 33 points in 2020.
According to the Post, "Maryland’s Republican primary race has become widely viewed as a hostile proxy campaign between Trump’s and Hogan’s competing visions for the direction of the party. It echoes the schism in GOP contest nationwide as the party seeks nominees that can regain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections," adding, "The contest plays out in a state where Republicans know both men well and consistently give each high favorability ratings. Tuesday’s primary will force them, for the first time, to choose whose philosophy they like more: one that exalts Make America Great Again conservatism or one designed to appeal far beyond that base."
Democrats, hoping to face Cox -- who has called for a forensic audit of Maryland's 2020 presidential votes -- are sinking $2 miilion into the race making sure Trump's rabid base knows that he is the former president's man and they should vote for him.
"The DGA [Democratic Governors Association], which has targeted Trump-backed candidates in other states with mixed results, denies it is propping up Cox. The organization says it’s merely getting an early start on the general election, when analysts predict strong head winds for Democrats with high inflation on voters’ minds and President Biden’s approval ratings at record lows," the Post is reporting. "But other Democrats — and Hogan — see a Cox candidacy as an easy general election fight in a state where Democrats hold a 2-to-1 registration advantage and voters support abortion rights, gun control and elected Biden by a 33-point margin in 2020."
In May Maryland Republican Party Chairman Dirk Haire issued a statement hoping voters would go with Hogan's choice, warning, "The road map for success for Maryland Republicans is clear. If we nominate approachable, credible, and likable candidates who effectively advocate for common- sense conservative solutions, then we will be historically successful. Most independents and even some Democrats in Maryland have already shown they will vote for Republican candidates like this — it’s our job to make sure they are on the ballot.”
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