Dan Cox speaks with FOX 5 as Election Day approaches

Continuing to talk with local officials who are running for office, and Marylanders can start casting their early votes today ahead of the midterms. This morning, we're speaking with one of the candidates for governor, and let's welcome in Republican candidate Dan Cox. Dan, good to see you this morning. Good morning, Steve and Marissa. It's an honor. Thanks for having me on. It's a rematch for you. You've been down this road before. What in your vision in 2026 and beyond would a Dan Cox-led Maryland be like? Well, you know, we're running hard for affordability because people are hurting, Steve. Everybody opens their electric bills and they open their property tax bill. They're looking at their rent skyrocketing. All of these bills are hitting us. And then you top it all off with 338 new fees from Governor Moore, including not only the highest electric bills, but some of the highest car registration fees in America. So I'm going to eliminate that on day one. We're going to roll those back, every single one of them. We're going to make sure Maryland is once again affordable. We're going to have an opportunity also for young people that not only stay here but to invest to buy their own home we're looking at home affordability as a primary purpose of our campaign then you add to that you know the the opportunities we have a four-pillar approach of accountability affordability accountability public safety and education and you know we're 38th for education for math and 36th for reading and we're we're paying some of the highest education rates in the world so it's unfortunate and we can turn that around and make sure teachers have the tools they need in the classroom and the funding they need rather than the overhead, most of the money going to the overhead like it is. You know, public safety, Steve, is a crucial issue in our state. We're losing people because not only the tax burden is so high, we're going to roll those back for seniors. 65 and up should not have to pay any property tax as well as on their retirement. We're going to work hard to do that. We're also going to lower the tax assessment. But when you look at public safety, a lot of our 357,000 people that have left the state have done so because of those tax burdens coupled with the public safety issue, because no one's holding the youth accountable when they're carjacking, when they're going out there and committing first degree assault. So we're going to roll that back and Governor Moore signed the law, Youth Charging Reform Act, against every state's attorney's request, including Ivan Bates of Baltimore City. So we are going to work with the state's attorneys, bring back accountability for our youth, and make sure that they have a pathway to success. One of the challenges, Dan, that you have in Maryland is just on the political makeup of the state itself. You could reach every Republican voter in Maryland. It's going to be a tough task. What have you learned from when you ran against Governor Moore before that you can use now to try to reach across that aisle, try to reach more voters, Maybe if they're not registered to the Republican Party, they could help elevate you to this position. You know, I'm a Marylander first and last, and it's an honor to run because every single Marylander, whether they're independent, Democrat or Republican, we all open the same electric bills. And we're seeing cronyism. Governor Moore took $24,000 from Terrell Wolf to hand them our Morgantown power plant for this mega data center. That's a fact in his donations, his and his lieutenant governor's donations. He took $72,000 in donations, along with his lieutenant governor, from BG&E and Exelon at a time when they're asking for $156 million increase in a rate pay. This is unconscionable. This is why we're having such an electric crisis. And we're paying some of the highest rates in the nation. In fact, all the blue states around us, Steve, are doing better. Look at Governor Shapiro, blue state of Pennsylvania. He's actually cutting taxes 4.9%. And if we don't do that, if we don't fix this, the train wreck is coming for our budget and our people are going to continue to leave. So we're seeing across the aisle, Steve, that everyone agrees on these issues. We're looking at that bipartisan and across the aisle approach. This is about Maryland. It's not about party. We're talking politics and rightly so, as the governor's race is right around the corner. But before we let you go, Dan, what's something about Dan Cox that people don't know? What's something that maybe aside from the political spectrum that Dan Cox enjoys that maybe people would like to know about? You know, I'm a dad and a granddad and my wife and my kids join in with me. We have 10 children. A lot of people don't know we have a big family and we have the greatest time together. It is tough to run for office. You know, we don't normally want to do that. You know, it's a big deal to have to put your whole family in for one to two years of this kind of work. but it's worth it. Why? Well, one of my daughters who's married with our little grandbabies had to move out and had to leave the state with her husband because it's unaffordable here. So she got twice the house for really half the price moving out of Maryland. And that's sad because it's one of the first members of our family and extended on my wife's side especially to have to leave Maryland. It shouldn't have to be that way. My wife and I were able to stay here. our generational family goes back. And we could raise a family here, but it's getting harder and harder for everybody. And so I would just hope that everybody goes and looks at who we are. We're everyday Marylanders. We're not funded by the big people up in New York like my opponent, Governor Moore. We are funded, 97% of our donations have come in from everyday Marylanders and right here in Maryland and not from out of state. So I'm humbly asking for their votes, Dan Cox for Governor.com. Let's get out and vote. And once again, stop. One more thing. Stop this vote against question three, which is the Washington Post called Westmore's embarrassment to Maryland for the gerrymandering that it's that is causing. So we're out here to support your voice. I'm humbly asking for your vote to do so. We appreciate your time this morning. Dan Cox, the Republican candidate for governor in Maryland. Thank you so very much. Good to talk to you this morning and of course we are talking with as many people as we can including the Democratic candidate for governor who is the sitting governor Wes Moore who we just chatted with thank you very much dan good to talk to you this morning uh you can catch up with tom fitzgerald's chat with westmore that is already posted online fox5dc.com we have our dmv voting guides on there as well so if you'd like to see uh what the democratic candidate had to say to us you can go online right now you can watch that entire interview there so good to represent both sides here on fox 5 of course we'll have special coverage all day on election day beginning at 7 p.m so