Frederick County residents Schulz, Cox locked in bitter GOP battle

Jul. 9—In the race to be Maryland's governor, former Maryland Commerce and Labor Secretary Kelly Schulz and state Del. Dan Cox differ on social issues, but agree on fiscal priorities.

The leading Republican gubernatorial candidates are Frederick County residents who got their start in local politics.

A recent Goucher College poll revealed that 25% of Republican primary voters would choose Cox, while 22% would select Schulz.

With a margin of error of about 4.8%, the results indicate a statistical tie between Cox and Schulz.

Cox has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Schulz has aligned herself closely with and been endorsed by Gov. Larry Hogan, who is finishing his second term and, according to Maryland's constitution, can't seek a third.

More than 90% of participants in the Goucher poll said they were either undecided in their choice or could change their mind before casting a ballot.

"Our polling suggests that the Republican primary race is competitive between Cox and Schulz, but that Schulz is in the best position to be competitive against the Democratic nominee in the general election," Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College, said in a news release about the poll.

The Democratic Governors Association knows it, too, and spent $1 million to support Cox.

Two other candidates are seeking the Republican nomination — Baltimore County attorney Joe Werner and Robin Ficker, a recently disbarred attorney who, from 1979 to 1983, represented Montgomery County in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Early voting for the primary election began Thursday and ends July 14. Primary election day is July 19.

Schulz was born in Michigan and lived 12 years in Rochester, New York, before moving to Frederick County in 2003.

Schulz attained her associate's degree in Rochester. In her mid-30s, she got a bachelor's degree in political science from Hood College, becoming the first in her family to graduate from a four-year college.

"After I moved to Frederick County, I became a single mom. I know how difficult it is to be able to work paycheck to paycheck and raise a family and try to put everything together," Schulz said in an interview with the News-Post.

As a Hood student in 2005, Schulz landed her first job in politics, volunteering for Joe Baldi's campaign for Frederick city mayor. Baldi lost the Republican nomination, but Schulz continued working with the party leading up to the November general election.

Schulz was elected in 2010 to represent Frederick and Carroll counties in the Maryland House of Delegates — a seat Cox now holds.

She left the legislature in 2014 to join Governor-elect Hogan's transition team. She went on to serve as secretary of the state Department of Labor and then of the Department of Commerce.

"It's a little uncomfortable for me that my representative, [who's] currently representing me and Frederick County, has zero successes to be able to bring home to the district that I fought so hard for," Schulz said.

Cox, a Washington, D.C., native, said he moved with his family to Frederick County when he was about 4 years old.

Cox said in an interview with the News-Post that his grandparents were "Ronald Reagan conservatives" who were involved in the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee and influenced his politics.

Cox was elected to the House of Delegates in 2018.

During his time in Annapolis, he has made clear his ardent support for Trump and feuded numerous times with Hogan, including an unsuccessful attempt to sue the governor over the state's COVID restrictions and a push to impeach him.

He posted on Twitter during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of the U.S. Capitol that then-Vice President Mike Pence "is a traitor" for certifying the 2020 presidential election results. Cox has also compared a mental health bill to the Holocaust.

Cox said that, if elected, he would seek to end the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Maryland schools. There is no evidence, however, that Critical Race Theory — the academic framework that law schools and other institutions of higher education use to examine how racism is embedded in American institutions — is taught in any of the state's primary or secondary schools.

Cox said he would push for the Maryland Department of Education to change state requirements for health and sex education, too.

In an interview with the News-Post, Cox alleged that people are taking advantage of the state's abortion laws for a regional sex trafficking industry.

He also said Schulz's campaign is to blame for tension in the Republican Party.

"I have always thought well of Kelly Schulz, and I still do," Cox said. "She's been a friend in times past — unfortunately, she has taken with her campaign a negative view."

The candidates and their supporters, namely Hogan and Trump, have exchanged unpleasantries throughout their campaigns.

Schulz and Cox differed in their responses to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights for women across the country.

Schulz said in a prepared statement that as governor, she would "do nothing to change current law in Maryland."

However, as a state delegate, she supported bills to restrict women's access to abortion. She also has been aligned with Hogan, who in April vetoed a bill to expand criteria for who can perform an abortion.

Cox, on the other hand, said he would do "everything in my power under the Constitution" to end access to abortions in Maryland.

Schulz and Cox align on other policy priorities, like addressing inflation, lowering state taxes and supporting law enforcement. Both candidates said they would push for people to treat police officers as "heroes."

It'll be an uphill battle for whoever wins the Republican nomination in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2 to 1.

"Given the political demographics of the state," Kromer said, "Republican candidates must earn around a quarter of Democratic votes to win statewide office."

Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan