Trump-endorsed Dan Cox leading in GOP governor race in early Maryland election results, Perez staking lead among Democrats

President Donald Trump is showing he may be more popular now among Maryland Republicans than ever before, at least in the precincts where votes have been counted as of this hour. Trump's hand-picked candidate, Delegate Dan Cox, is leading in the GOP race for governor in early election results. Cox's strength is showing across the board, in both early voting and today's in-person results. There is electricity at the Cox Election Night party in Emmitsburg; as of 10:40 PM, Cox is leading Kelly Schulz 50.63%% to 42.25% for the Republican nomination.

Tom Perez

On the Democratic side, Tom Perez is racing out to a massive early lead over his crowded field of competitors. Like Cox, Perez is dominating in both today's tally from polling places, and in the early voting results. He holds a 46.70% lead over Wes Moore, who is currently in a distant second place with 23.09%. Peter Franchot, long considered the frontrunner in the race, is struggling to rack up even half of Moore's total so far.

"So far" is the operative phrase, of course. Only 85 of 258 election day precincts have been counted statewide so far. Depending which counties are further ahead in their counts, the results may change by morning, and into the rest of the week.