A supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump was selected by Republican voters in the eastern state of Maryland as their choice for governor.

State legislator Dan Cox overwhelmingly won Tuesday’s preliminary elections, far outpacing his nearest opponent, Kelly Schulz, who once served in the cabinet of outgoing Republican Governor Larry Hogan. He is one of many Republican candidates endorsed by the former president ahead of the upcoming midterm elections who have supported Trump’s false claims that he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden due to a fraudulent process.

Cox attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021 that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol aimed at stopping the official certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory, and called then-Vice President Mike Pence a “traitor” on Twitter before eventually deleting the post and apologizing.

The Republican contest was seen as a proxy battle between Trump and Governor Hogan, who was elected twice in the reliably Democratic-leaning state and has urged the party to move on from the combative ex-president. Hogan is widely considered by political observers as a potential candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Cox’s eventual Democratic opponent in the November general election was still undecided Tuesday night. First-time candidate and best-selling author Wes Moore was leading Tom Perez, who served as Labor Secretary under former President Barack Obama, but the final result will not be decided for several days until mail-in ballots are counted.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press
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