With Marylanders already receiving and filling out their mail-in ballots, votes have already been cast for Maryland's next governor.
A University of Maryland/Washington Post poll from late September shows Moore with a more than 30 point lead.
WMAR-2 News anchors Jamie Costello and Kelly Swoope sat down with the candidates. The interviews were conducted separately in mid-September. Each had 30 minutes with the candidates.
While we did not bring up the topic of January 6th, Wes Moore brought it up during his conversation with Jamie.
Jamie Costello: "When you cracked Oprah’s circle, did you finally get to go backstage? What has her friendship meant?"
Wes Moore: "Her friendship has meant everything. She’s not just a dear friend, she’s an important guide, in my life. And, you know, I remember from the first moments I had a chance to interact with her, when I was actually on her show, when I actually got the first chance to meet with her, to the moment when I told her that I was getting ready to leave my role as CEO of one of the largest poverty fighting organizations in this country and told her that I was thinking about running for Governor of Maryland. Which, by the way, that conversation, that I had with her to tell her that, was on January 6th. Where, literally, I was having a conversation, and on the television behind me were insurrectionists, who were scaling the walls of the Capitol to try and overturn an election. And I think about that in the context of this election and where we are. Where my definition of patriotism, was leaving my family and putting on the uniform of this country and leading soldiers in combat as a member of the 82nd Airborne division. And it’s not lost on me that the definition of patriotism for my opponent in November, is putting on a baseball cap, and asking people to join him on January 6th. To call for Mike Pence to be hung, for certifying an election. So the stakes of this race could not be more clear."
When we later interviewed Dan Cox, we gave him the opportunity to respond to this.
(Transparency Note: There is a portion of this exchange, which can be found in full at the bottom of this article, that has been taken out for clarity's sake. Cox was discussing the mail-in court battle, which at the time of the interview was ongoing, but has now been resolved.)
Kelly Swoope: Let’s talk about January 6th. I know you took a group from the Frederick County Conservative’s Club to the demonstration in Washington. Do you still think the election was stolen?
Dan Cox: So, just to clarify. I didn’t take any group – I took 7 of my children.
Kelly Swoope: Okay.
Dan Cox: And the group – the, the club – was doing their own accessing of the buses, it had nothing to do with me. I think my name got tied into it because I’m - I’m somewhat a “celebrity” - I was a delegate riding on the bus with my kids. But the issue is election integrity is still in front of us.
Kelly Swoope: And I ask you that question because we interviewed your opponent as well, my colleague, Jamie Costello. In the interview, he says, and I wrote down what he says and I’m going to give you an opportunity to respond. He says, “my definition of patriotism, was leaving my family and putting on the uniform and leading soldiers in combat as a member of the 82nd Airborne division. And it’s not lost on me that the definition of patriotism for my opponent in November, is putting on a baseball cap, and asking people to join him on January 6th. To call for Mike Pence to be hung, for certifying an election. So the stakes of this race could not be more clear.”
Dan Cox: Well that’s libel and slander on Wes Moore’s part and I didn’t know he said that. So, I’m putting him on notice, that’s libel. I never said such a thing and for him to even say such a thing is an outrage. And I think he’s better than this. Because, I’ve met him, had a great conversation with him. In fact, we had a wonderful conversation about the fact that I respected his 82nd Airborne service, because first of all, I always honor our veterans and my own son was in the 82nd Airborne so we did a hoo-ah.
Kelly Swoope: Mm-hm.
Dan Cox: I appreciate that about him. But you know what, he needs to examine the fact that he’s been untruthful. He claimed and allowed to stand on national news three times that he had a Bronze Star of Valor. But he does not. And he has never corrected that. And I think he needs to come clean.
Following the interview with Dan Cox, we reached out to Wes Moore's team for comment.
On the libel and slander comment, Moore campaign spokesperson Brian Jones said, "Dan Cox does not get to tweet about sponsoring buses to the insurrection, tweet that former Vice President Mike Pence was a traitor for certifying the election results, and then try to delete the tweets, rewrite history, and play the victim. Maryland voters are smarter than that."
On the Bronze star comment, Jones gave us this statement, "Dan Cox, who has never worn our nation's uniform, has subscribed to a perverted form of patriotism that involves extremist election denials. Dan Cox does not get to lecture Wes Moore, a decorated combat veteran who volunteered to lead soldiers in an elite unit in Afghanistan, about his military service. In hundreds of speeches and interviews about his dynamic military service, Wes Moore has never claimed to have a bronze star and Dan Cox should be ashamed of himself for attempting to disparage his service."
Leading up to the election WMAR-2 News will highlight various parts of the interview with candidates. You can watch the rest of the interviews on the WMAR-2 News YouTube channel.
Click here for Wes Moore.
Click here for Dan Cox.
The portions in this story were edited out of the full interviews to fact-check and review the candidate's claims. These portions of the interview have now been added as a part of the playlist so that you can see the entirety of both interviews.
There are three other candidates on the ballot for Governor in Maryland:
Nancy Wallace with the Green Party
David Lashar with the Libertarian Party
David Harding with the Working Class Party
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Full transcript of Dan Cox's answer from his interview at WMAR-2 News on Thursday, September 15, 2022:
Swoope: Let’s talk about January 6th. I know you took a group from the Frederick County Conservative’s Club to the demonstration in Washington. Do you still think the election was stolen?
Cox: So, just to clarify. I didn’t take any group – I took 7 of my children.
Swoope: Okay.
Cox: And the group – the, the club – was doing their own accessing of the buses, it had nothing to do with me. I think my name got tied into it because I’m - I’m somewhat a “celebrity” - I was a delegate riding on the bus with my kids. But the issue is election integrity is still in front of us. Like today, you may not know this, but we filed a motion in response to the state’s lawsuit. The state has sued to change the law to allow counting of the mail-in ballots as they’re coming in.
Swoope: Mm-hm.
Cox: Well the legislature has not authorized that. In fact, the governor vetoed it. And the legislature did not override that veto yet. And yet they’re trying to go the courts, which constitutionally have no standing to change anything. And we filed an opposition today to say that the Maryland people know in the middle of an election, we’re not gonna change the rules again, just like they did in 2020. In the middle of an election in 2020, courts and executives began issuing covid orders to change election law. Even though the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Maryland both say that only legislatures can do this. So I hope that we can trust the Constitution, as a government, that’s what I intend to do. And I think if – If we stick to the laws and the Constitution, everyone has much more of a sense of confidence in the outcome.
Swoope: And I ask you that question because we interviewed your opponent as well, my colleague, Jamie Costello. In the interview, he says, and I wrote down what he says and I’m going to give you an opportunity to respond. He says, “my definition of patriotism, was leaving my family and putting on the uniform and leading soldiers in combat as a member of the 82nd Airborne division. And it’s not lost on me that the definition of patriotism for my opponent in November, is putting on a baseball cap, and asking people to join him on January 6th. To call for Mike Pence to be hung, for certifying an election. So the stakes of this race could not be more clear.”
Cox: Well that’s libel and slander on Wes Moore’s part and I didn’t know he said that. So, I’m putting him on notice, that’s libel. I never said such a thing and for him to even say such a thing is an outrage. And I think he’s better than this. Because, I’ve met him, had a great conversation with him. In fact, we had a wonderful conversation about the fact that I respected his 82nd Airborne service, because first of all, I always honor our veterans and my own son was in the 82nd Airborne so we did a hoo-ah.
Swoope: Mm-hm.
Cox: I appreciate that about him. But you know what, he needs to examine the fact that he’s been untruthful. He claimed and allowed to stand on national news three times that he had a Bronze Star of Valor. But he does not. And he has never corrected that. And I think he needs to come clean.