Former Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox on July 3 said that someone had falsely filed paperwork in his name to run for his state’s 6th Congressional District.
“I have not filed. We’ve reported this matter to the FEC for fraud,” Cox wrote on Twitter.
“I have made no such filing and Valerie and I have made no decision yet,” the former state delegate wrote in an earlier statement on Facebook. “Apparently a far left new Delegate from Montgomery County has issued a press release that I’ve filed and apparently media says someone has filed my name. I did not do so and intend to take action to find out who did.”
Currently, Maryland’s 6th District is represented by third-term Rep. David Trone (D-Md.).
In May, Trone announced that he would be vacating the seat to run for Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) Senate seat upon Cardin’s retirement at the end of his current term.
Cox, a former state delegate, received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his 2022 bid for the governorship. Although Cox defeated the more moderate Kelly Schulz in the GOP primary, he was ultimately routed by the state’s current Democrat Gov. Wes Moore.
Prior to running for governor, Cox sought Maryland’s 8th Congressional District seat in 2016. After winning the primary, he lost that race to Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin.
In the state’s General Assembly, he introduced articles of impeachment against Hogan, but they were ultimately rejected by members of his own party.
Although he did not challenge the results of the 2022 election, Cox asked the U.S. Supreme Court in January to reverse an emergency state court order issued prior to the election that suspended parts of Maryland’s election law forbidding the early counting of mail-in ballots.
The court order, Cox held, violated the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution in allowing ballots to be opened more than a month prior to Election Day.
“Mr. Cox was the only elected official who saw an issue with what the Board of Elections was doing,” Cox’s attorney, Ed Hartman, told The Epoch Times in February.
“It is important to him that the branches of government comply with their constitutional duties, and that elections throughout Maryland are fair and legal.”
Democrat Joe Vogel, a Maryland state delegate, announced his bid for the seat in May via Twitter.
“We need a new generation of leaders in Washington who understand exactly what’s at stake in this moment,” Vogel wrote.
“We just can’t wait to end gun violence, secure our rights, protect our democracy, and save our planet. Join me in the fight for our future.”
