BALTIMORE — Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox posted a tweet Tuesday shooting down reports that he has filed to run for Congress.
“I have not filed,” Cox posted Tuesday. “We’ve reported this matter to the FEC for fraud.”
That succinct, two-sentence tweet deepens a mystery that arose Monday when someone purporting to be Cox filed a “Statement of Candidacy” with the Federal Election Commission.
Not only did whoever filled out the form attest that it was “signed as Dan Cox” and “signed by the candidate on 07/03/2023,” he, she or they also filled out Cox’s candidate ID, identified a purported campaign committee known as “Dan Cox for Congress” and listed a specific FEC identification number for that committee.
Cox could not be reached immediately Tuesday for comment.
Maryland’s sixth congressional district is currently represented by David Trone, a Democrat. Trone has announced that he will run for the seat that will become vacant in 2025 upon the retirement of U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat.
Cox, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was defeated in November by the Democratic candidate and current governor, Wes Moore.
Moore received 64.5% of the vote, Cox received 32.1% of the vote, and Libertarian candidate David Lashar received 1.5% of the vote. The remaining 1.9% of the vote was divided between The Green Party’s Nancy Wallace, the Working Class Party’s David Harding and write-in candidates.
