MARYLAND — Yesterday, Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox’s running mate, Gordana Schifanelli, and his endorsed candidate for attorney general, Michael Peroutka, signaled that their vendetta against Republican Governor Larry Hogan will continue throughout the rest of the election season with a pair of attacks aimed at the outgoing governor.
Schifanelli has previously insinuated that Hogan is a traitor, asking the proper label for someone who “goes to play for another team [while] still calling himself the capitan [sic] of your team,” and eliciting at least three responses applying the label Cox infamously used against former Vice President Mike Pence on January 6th. Schifanelli even went so far as to declare that Hogan’s father is “turning in his grave” over his refusal to back Cox.
In a Friday interview with a right-wing outlet, Schifanelli again attacked Hogan, arguing that in “becoming a moderate,” he “literally abandoned the principle of caring for the citizens,” “abandoned our education system” and generally has “lost his marbles.” She punctuated her anti-Hogan argument by asserting that he “really needs to retire, because the idea of him being a president in 2024 or even thinking that Marylanders will elect him, it’s laughable.”
Also on Friday, after an interview that made news for his pledge not to respect Maryland abortion law, Cox-endorsed Republican attorney general candidate Michael Peroutka clarified that he was talking about Hogan and local health officers when he said he would make sure the people who implemented pandemic-era protections are “brought to justice.”
“Dan Cox and his running mate continue to go after Governor Hogan. This latest is just another in the long string of instances in which Cox and his running mate make it clear they want absolutely nothing to do with Hogan or any Republican who isn’t a Trump sycophant,” said Maryland Democratic Party spokesperson Ernest Bailey. “Republican in-fighting will continue through Election Day and, with Dan Cox having clearly signaled his intent to contest this year’s election results, likely beyond.”