Republican Attempts to Woo Young Black Voters at Morgan State—Fails Miserably

Six weeks before Election Day, Dan Cox (R) who’s running for Maryland governor, went to Morgan State University in an attempt to woo young Black voters—spoiler alert, it didn’t go well.

The Washington Post reports Cox participated in an hour-long forum hosted by the student news site, The Morgan State Spokesman, in an attempt to cut his 22-point deficit to his democratic opponent, Wes Moore.

Cox started the forum by accusing Moore of being disrespectful to Morgan State and its students by declining to participate in the event. During the forum, students asked the republican nominee a litany of questions on abortion access, critical race theory, HBCU funding, the January 6 Capitol Riot, and election integrity, in which Cox wouldn’t commit to accepting the result of the race with Moore.

“I believe very firmly in making sure that our system works. I don’t believe in changing the rules midstream,” Cox said according to the post.

“I don’t believe in making a system that creates questions. I don’t believe in losing our chain of custody with mail-in ballots. I don’t believe in failure to assert and verify that it’s actually voters voting.”

The pressure from students didn’t stop there. At one point, Cox denied co-hosting buses to transport Trump supporters to Washington, D.C. on January 6. When a student referenced a tweet Cox posted with the hashtag #StopTheSteal, Cox insisted he only bought tickets for himself and his seven children.

The tough questions continued and Cox was asked how he can believe people should have a choice when it comes to taking the COVID-19 vaccine, but also believe a woman’s choice to have an abortion should be limited. Cox avoided giving a straight answer to the question.

“Right now the issue before us is not so much these moral debates that we’ve had so long, which everyone knows I’m pro-life; the issue is whether or not we can put food on our children’s tables and have an opportunity here in Maryland,” Cox replied.

Several Morgan State students, including Charles Ederson, told The Washington Post after the forum there’s no way they can support Cox, citing a “lack of accountability” concerning the Capitol Riot, as well as his stances on abortion and trans people, who he continues to refer to as “biological men or women.”

Cox is one of several Republican candidates that easily won their primaries due to an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. However, several of those candidates, including Cox, are finding the general election much harder. That includes Dr. Mehmet Oz who is trailing Democrat John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race, and JD Vance, who is virtually tied with Democrat Tim Ryan in their race for an Ohio Senate seat.