Maryland Democrats’ ads try to sway Republican primary for governor

Maryland Democrats are wading into the Republican primary for governor, running ads seeking to influence opinions about the two front-runners, Dan Cox and Ed Hale.

A pair of video ads from incumbent Gov. Wes Moore’s campaign call Cox “too conservative for Maryland” for being aligned with President Donald Trump and refer to Hale as someone who “can’t be trusted” because he switched political parties last year. They’re running on Fox News and Facebook.

And a recent mailer from the Maryland Democratic Party echoes the same themes.

“Ed Hale will say anything to get elected,” the mailer says, noting that Hale said he changed parties as a strategic move.

The mailer also quotes a Trump endorsement of Cox in 2021: “Dan Cox is an America First Patriot” and “Dan is MAGA all the way.”

Cox and Hale are among nine Republicans seeking the gubernatorial nomination and expected to face off against Moore, who is facing token primary opposition.

The ads from Moore and the Maryland Democrats echo the 2022 election, when the Democratic Governors Association ran ads during the primary that promoted Cox’s alliance with Trump.

The DGA said at the time they were “starting the general election early” and educating voters. But they also may have had the effect of promoting Cox to an audience of conservative voters, sometimes known as the “pied piper” strategy.

The same could happen here, with the ads portraying Cox as a dedicated Republican compared to Hale’s short-lived association with the party.

Moore hasn’t directly weighed in on who he’d prefer to face in the November general election. He dispatched Cox easily in 2022, 65% to 32%.

Cox and Hale are furious about the ads, complaining that Democrats are meddling in Republican affairs.

“I denounce this interference with our elections and absolutely false attack on Republicans such as myself as ‘too conservative,’” Cox said in a statement.

Cox added: “This interference with elections is exactly what unpopular governors like Wes Moore do to distract from his disastrous policies.”

Hale plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday morning to address what he calls Democrats’ efforts “to handpick their own Republican opponent.”

The Democrats see the ads as fair game in politics.

Maryland Democratic Party Chair Steuart Pittman said in a statement that the party plans to “educate voters on the dangers of the Republicans running for office who seek to take Maryland backwards.”

“Marylanders deserve to know who’s running to represent them: A far-right extremist who bussed people to the Capitol on January 6th and someone who is willing to switch their party and their beliefs just to win an election,” Pittman, who is also Anne Arundel County executive, said.

Moore campaign spokesman Carter Elliott IV said their team is taking nothing for granted.

“We will work day and night to make sure in November that voters know what they stand for,” Elliott said in a statement.