CNN projects Trump-backed Dan Cox will win GOP gubernatorial primary in Maryland

Maryland Republicans chose state lawmaker Dan Cox, an election denier who has taken a series of hard-line conservative positions, as their nominee for what will be one of the most difficult governor's offices for the party to hold in November's midterms, CNN projected.

Elections officials on Tuesday night had begun what could be a weeks-long process of counting ballots. County officials were barred from beginning to process the record-breaking number of mail-in ballots for a primary election until after in-person voting concluded.

Cox won the GOP race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan -- an outcome that showcased Republican voters' willingness to scrap what had been a winning formula in the deep-blue state after Hogan angered his own party with his criticism of Trump and his public safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It's not yet clear which Democrat Cox will face; author Wes Moore and former Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez were the leading vote-getters as ballots were being counted Tuesday night.

The primary was a proxy fight between former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Cox, and Hogan, who endorsed his former commerce secretary, Kelly Schulz.