ANNAPOLIS, MD â MAGA Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox was silent today when asked to respond about his son, Josiah Cox (29), telling a Marylander that Jewish people are âpedophilesâ and âSatan worshipping scum.â
âThere is no place in Maryland for the dangerous antisemitism we see in these messages from Josiah Cox. Dan Cox must unequivocally denounce this rhetoric and apologize to the Jewish community for the harm this bigotry has caused,â said Democratic Party Chairman Steuart Pittman. âAntisemitism like this fuels the acts of hate we continue to see in our communities, and itâs why it has become a necessity for Governor Moore to fund programs dedicated to protecting organizations, community centers, and houses of worship across Maryland.â
âMarylandâs Jewish community should know this: Governor Moore will continue to do everything in his power to keep you and your family safe, and to make this a welcoming home for everyone,â said Senior Communications Adviser Carter Elliott, IV. âHate like this has no home in Maryland, and Dan Cox must firmly denounce this dangerous antisemetic rhetoric.â
Hereâs What Marylanders Are Reading:
The son â and one-time campaign worker â of Dan Cox, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, sent Facebook messages predicting âIsrael will fallâ and calling Jews âscum who killed my savior Jesusâ and the âSynagogue of Satan,â according to a post from a GOP consultant.
Republican operative Alexandra Levine shared screenshots of messages allegedly from Josiah Cox, the GOP gubernatorial nomineeâs son, that were posted to a Facebook group in June. The profile in the images uses the same name and photo as one the gubernatorial hopeful tagged in a 2024 post, which also called his son his âbodyguardâ and shared photos of him, including one with then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
âJewish customs disgust me,â one of the screen-grabbed missives reads. âYouâre pedophiles and Satan worshipping scum and you slaughter innocents all around the world.â
The message continues: âIsrael will fall either by the might of the nations God sends against it or in the end times when Christ returns and wipes them off the face of the earth. I long for that day. Enjoy the rockets you brought on yourself.â
Another of the images Levine posted includes the references to killing Jesus and the âSynagogue of Satan,â ancient antisemitic libels. Josiah Cox also declared himself âMore right wing that [sic] you can imagine.â
âChrist is king, down with zionists,â that message concludes.
According to Levine, the exchange began in March, after the younger Cox commented that Israel does not have a right to exist on one of her posts.
âHis father is running for Governor of Maryland and this is how he feels!â Levine wrote at the time. âIf Dan wins the primary, this rhetoric will continue. What Iâm finding is that Dan is working with the Alt right [sic] of the Republican Party and allowing these antisemitics [sic] to be apart [sic] of his campaign.â
Cox â a 2020 election denier who had helped bus supporters to President Donald Trumpâs Jan. 6, 2021, rally and called former Vice President Mike Pence a traitor â won Trumpâs endorsement and even a fundraiser that the then-former president hosted at Mar-a-Lago during his previous run against Moore in 2022. Maryland campaign finance records show that Josiah Cox made thousands of dollars off his fatherâs 2022 race against the eventually victorious Moore.
State records show no payments from the campaign to the younger Cox this cycle.
In her Facebook post, Levine added that she had contacted Dan Cox about the messages but got no answer after three months. She urged members of the Facebook group, âEverybodyâs Maryland Politics,â to support the former state lawmakerâs primary opponent.
âI do not want Jewish Republicans to vote for this man who has a son who clearly hates Jews,â she wrote, before concluding, âJewish people, reject the Anti-Israel Cox train!â
Levine declined to comment on the record for this story, except to say that Dan Cox had apologized to her and she no longer regarded him as culpable for his sonâs behavior. She deleted the Facebook post shortly after speaking to Jewish Insider.
Neither Cox responded to repeated questions from JI.