OnTheIssuesLogo

John Cox on Principles & Values

Republican Party Chair, Cook County (IL)

 


Constitution does not require freedom FROM religion

I believe that religious freedom is a fundamental human right. America should be steadfast in supporting the rights of individuals to express their religious beliefs in every corner of the world. I am a baptized, born-again evangelical Catholic who believes we need to embrace people of all religious beliefs. The religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution does not mean freedom from religion, or that religion must be banished from public discussion.
Source: 2008 Presidential website, cox2008.com , Jul 2, 2007

Placing well in polls in NH, IA, & SC, but ignored by media

John Cox is a Chicago millionaire who was the first declared Republican candidate (as of March 2006). A good Reaganite conservative, Cox has tried to be self-sufficient, financing his campaign thus far to the tune of $800,000. After 20 trips, he's been to all 99 counties in Iowa. He's been to New Hampshire 14 times, and South Carolina, 10. He's won a Republican straw poll outright in Aiken County, South Carolina, and finished 5th in total votes among all Republican contenders when 3 other counties were totaled. And yet, he's lucky if he ever gets mentioned in mainstream media candidate roundups.

I'm not going to lie, I felt sorry for John Cox. He needed some media attention, so I decided to redress this injustice and go see John Cox. I've spent a fair amount of time around fringe candidates, but he didn't seem like the others. He doesn't own a sandwich board or a megaphone. He never says "blood for oil" when critiquing the war in Iraq. His suits fit, & he has no out-of-control ear hair.

Source: Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, "Sane Fringe Candidate" , May 21, 2007

Running for president as Reagan conservative

His wife, Sarah, is partly responsible for his presidential run. Tired of seeing him barking at the TV, at the corrupt & profligate Republican leadership as well as at the feckless president, Sarah told him, "Why don't you do something about it?" They were supposed to go on a trip the next day, but Cox stayed up all night. Waking early the next morning, Sarah found him sitting at 6 AM, reading a Reagan book. "He said, ‘Honey, I'm going to run for president.'" Her first reaction: "Oh. My. God."

Cox feels that none of the current crop of Republicans is actually carrying the leadership mantle of Ronald Reagan. "It's not that Reagan was some giant," Cox says. "It's just that he stood head & shoulders above all the other midgets." Cox says he doesn't even necessarily want to be president--he has a great life--he just wants to see the job done properly. "I'm pissed, because I expected something better out of a conservative Republican president. On everything--Iraq, immigration, spending."

Source: Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, "Sane Fringe Candidate" , May 21, 2007

Self-made man; made millions in potato chip industry

Born poor on Chicago's South Side, Cox, 51, is a self-made man. He finished college in 2-1/2 years & went on to start several businesses: a law/accounting firm, an investment advisory firm, a real estate management company, and a venture capital firm. In the mid-'90s, he led a group that purchased the Jays Foods potato chip manufacturer, sparing more than 600 local jobs and taking it from a $17-million loss to a $3-million profit in less than a year.
Source: Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, "Sane Fringe Candidate" , May 21, 2007

Ran unsuccessfully for Congress, Senate, & county office

In the red flag department, Cox has run unsuccessfully for office in Illinois three times: in a congressional, senatorial, and Cook County recorder of deeds race. But even in his most recent loss, in 2004, his high principle was in evidence. He spent around $200,000 of his own money running for the recorder's job on the promise to eliminate the position as wasteful spending if he won--the kind of idea that used to fire up conservatives back when they were, how to put it, conservative.
Source: Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, "Sane Fringe Candidate" , May 21, 2007

His 220-page book, "Politic$, Inc.," sets out his ideas

Cox says, "You know who [supply-side guru] Arthur Laffer is? He's written that he fundamentally agrees with everything about my book"--his new 220-page book, Politic$, Inc., that sets out his ideas. (As a novice, Cox is under the mistaken impression that presidential campaigns are about ideas.)
Source: Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard, "Sane Fringe Candidate" , May 21, 2007

Served as president of the Cook County Republican Party

Cox served as president of the Cook County Republican Party and was on the state steering committee for former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp's presidential run in 1988. He ran unsuccessfully for both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, which Cox sees as a positive in his quest for the GOP nomination. "Anybody who comes out of Washington has problems," he said, "therefore, they don't deserve a promotion."
Source: John Kozoil, in "The Citizen", Laconia, NH , Jun 11, 2007

A true conservative, not a libertarian

Cox said he is a true conservative, not a libertarian and that unlike Mitt Romney, he has actually run a business. "I make no bones about the fact that I'm a conservative," he said, later adding "I don't believe government is the answer for everything."
Source: John Kozoil, in "The Citizen", Laconia, NH , Jun 11, 2007

A lot of Republicans in DC are not acting like Republicans

Q. Has the party lost its way?

A. We have a lot of Republicans in Washington that are not acting like Republicans. There are a lot of candidates, but not a lot of them are going to bring back the principles of Ronald Reagan. We haven't had someone who is speaking for Republicans. Reagan committed to that. He was not a career candidate. He did not get into politics until he was 55 years old. It should be about ideas and principles. It should be about changing the country for the better.

Source: John Beaudoin, Logan (IA) Herald-Observer , Feb 7, 2007

GOP needs an outsider businessman like me

I'm an outsider. I'm a businessman. I'm the only one up here who has ever run a business and been a chief executive. That's what we need in this party. I'm a proud conservative Republican. I'm ashamed & I'm disappointed at what the Republican leadership did with the majority that we worked so hard to build. I want to get this party back to its core. I want to get it back to its basics. And we need an outsider--someone who has run a business, who has gotten results in the private sector to do that.
Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate , Sep 17, 2007

Reborn in Christ in 1979

Q: Tell us about your personal faith, and what it means to your life.

A: Pastor, thanks for this question, because it's very important to me. I was not raised with religion. That was a gift from God. I was reborn in Christ on October 31, 1979. A man ministered to me on a commuter train in Chicago--a member of the Christian businessman's committee.

Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate , Sep 17, 2007

Ran for president because 4 congressmen resigned in disgrace

My faith has led me to do what I'm doing now, because I'm horrified at the lack of integrity that the career politicians have wrought on this country. We have four congressmen resign in disgrace last year, and they were Republicans. And that horrifies me and dismays me. That's why I decided to run for president.
Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate , Sep 17, 2007

CEO history is more important than celebrity

Q: You were a CEO in the private sector, but you're not that well known in the campaign, so what should make us take your candidacy seriously?

A: That's a good question in many ways, because it goes to the essence of our democracy. Are we gonna focus on substance, or are we gonna focus on celebrities? ‘Cause I submit, if we want to just elect celebrities, maybe we ought to elect Paris Hilton or O.J. Simpson.

I'm a CEO, as you said, and the presidency is the chief executive of this country. The president is charged with getting things done, getting results, building a team, hiring people, firing people if need be, setting goals, monitoring those goals, making sure those goals are consistent with the wishes of the people, because that's, after all, who the chief executive works for, just like a chief executive of a company works for his shareholders.

It would be my mission to bring other business executives in who would have the same drive and the same love of the country that I do.

Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate , Sep 17, 2007

I'm against corruption in government and in business

Regardless of where it's coming from, I'm against corruption, in our government and in businesses. I'm not a career politician. Unlike our current governor and my opponent, I've spent my entire career creating jobs and helping people to earn a better living. You can count on me to continue fighting in the interest of the people and fighting corruption wherever I see it.
Source: Campaign website JohnCox.com for 2021 CA recall race , Feb 15, 2021

Endorsed Endorsed by Donald Trump/MAGA during presidency.

Cox is endorsed by Trump/MAGA endorsement list

Endorsements by Donald Trump, implying support of Trump's agenda and electoral style. The phrase `Make America Great Again` was popularized in Trump`s 2015 book Time to Get Tough:Making America Great Again. It is the campaign slogan embroidered on the ubiquitous red caps seen at Trump rallies (which after Trump`s presidency, became known as `MAGA rallies`).

Source: Ballotpedia 2016-2022 endorsement list 2022-MAGA on Jan 1, 2022

Other governors on Principles & Values: John Cox on other issues:
[Title7]
Gubernatorial Debates 2021:
CA Recall:
S.D.Mayor Kevin_Faulconer(R)
vs.Former Gov. nominee John Cox(R)
vs.Former U.S.Rep Doug Ose(R)
vs.Laura Smith(R)
vs.Former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner(R)
vs.Radio Host Larry Elder(R)
vs.Kevin Paffrath(D)
vs.Gavin Newsom(D)
NJ: Incumbent Phil Murphy(D)
vs.State Rep. Jack Ciattarelli(R)
vs.Candidate Hirsh Singh(R)
vs.GOP Chair Doug Steinhardt(R)
VA: Incumbent Ralph Northam(D,term-limited)
vs.Former Governor Terry McAuliffe(D)
vs.CEO Glenn Youngkin(R)
vs.A.G. Mark Herring(D)
vs.State Sen. Amanda Chase(I)
vs.Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax(D)
vs.State Rep. Jennifer Carroll Foy(D)
vs.State Rep. Lee Carter(D)
vs.State Sen. Jennifer McClellan(D)
vs.State Rep. Kirk Cox(R)
vs.CEO Pete Snyder(R)

Gubernatorial Debates 2023:
KY: Incumbent Andy Beshear(D)
vs.State A.G. Daniel Cameron(R)

vs.Ambassador Kelly Craft(R)
vs.State Auditor Mike Harmon(R)
LA: Incumbent John Bel Edwards(D,term-limited)
vs.Biden Adviser Cedric Richmond(? D)
vs.Senator John Neely Kennedy(? R)
vs.Mitch Landrieu(D ?)
MS: Incumbent Tate Reeves(R)
vs.Bill Waller(R)

Gubernatorial Debates 2022:
AK: Incumbent Mike Dunleavy(R)
vs.Bill Walker(I)
vs.Les Gara(D)
vs.Billy Toien(L)
vs.State Rep. Chris Kurka(R)
AL: Incumbent Kay Ivey(R)
vs.Chris Countryman(D)
vs.Yolanda Flowers(D)
vs.Stacy Lee George(R)
vs.Ambassador Lynda Blanchard(R)
vs.State Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier(D)
vs.Challenger Tim James(R)
AR: Incumbent Asa Hutchinson(R,term-limited)
vs.Trump Adviser Sarah Huckabee Sanders(R)
vs.A.G. Leslie Rutledge(R,withdrew Nov.2021)
vs.Ricky Dale Harrington(L)
vs.Anthony Bland(D)
vs.Chris Jones(D)
AZ: Incumbent Doug Ducey(R,term-limited)
Mayor Marco Lopez(D)
vs.Former news anchor Kari Lake(R)
vs.Secretary of State Katie Hobbs(D)
vs.State Treasurer Kimberly Yee(R)
vs.U.S.Rep.Matt Salmon(R)
vs.Steve Gaynor(R)
vs.State Rep.Aaron Lieberman(D)
vs.Jorge Rivas(R)
vs.Karrin Taylor Robson(R)
CA: Incumbent Gavin Newsom(D)
vs.S.D.Mayor Kevin_Faulconer(R)
vs.Former Gov. nominee John Cox(R)
vs.Kevin Paffrath(D)
vs.State Sen. Brian Dahle(R)
vs.State A.G. Rob Bonta(D for AG)
CO: Incumbent Jared Polis(D)
vs.Mayor Greg Lopez(R)
vs.Heidi Ganahl(R)
CT: Incumbent Ned Lamont(D)
vs.Bob Stefanowski(? R)
FL: Incumbent Ron DeSantis(R)
vs.Former Gov.Charlie Crist(D)
vs.Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried(D)
vs.Annette Taddeo(D)
vs.Brian Moore(G)
GA: Incumbent Brian Kemp(R)
vs.Minority Leader Stacey Abrams(D)
vs.Senate candidate Shane Hazel(L)
vs.State Rep.Vernon Jones(R)
vs.2020 candidate Kandiss Taylor(R)
vs.Senator David Perdue(R)
HI: Incumbent David Ige(D,term-limited)
vs.Former Lt.Gov.Duke Aiona(R nominee)
vs.Marissa Kerns(R)
vs.Lt.Gov.Josh Green(D nominee)
vs.Vicky Cayetano(D)
vs.Paul Morgan(R)
vs.State Rep.Kirk Caldwell(D)
vs.U.S.Rep.Kai Kahele(D)
IA: Incumbent Kim Reynolds(R)
vs.Deidre DeJear(D)
vs.State Rep.Ras Smith(D)
ID: Incumbent Brad Little(R)
vs.Stephen Heidt(D)
vs.Raul Labrador(R)
vs.Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin(R)
vs.Ammon Bundy(R)
vs.Ed Humphreys(R)
IL: Incumbent J.B. Pritzker(D)
vs.State Sen.Darren Bailey(R)
vs.Paul Schimpf(R)
vs.Jesse Sullivan(R)
vs.Richard Irvin(R)
KS: Incumbent Laura Kelly(D)
vs.Jeff Colyer(R)
vs.State Sen.Derek Schmidt(R)
vs.Chase LaPorte(R) 		Gubernatorial Debates 2022 (continued):
MA: Incumbent Charlie Baker(R)
vs.Lt.Gov.Karyn Polito(R)
vs.State Rep. Geoff Diehl(R)
vs.Harvard Professor Danielle Allen(D)
vs.State Sen.Ben Downing(D)
vs.State Sen.Sonia Chang-Diaz(D)
vs.Shiva Ayyadurai(I)
vs.A.G. Maura Healey(D)
MD: Incumbent Larry Hogan(R,term-limited)
vs.State Del.Robin Ficker(R) vs.State Del.Peter Franchot(D) vs.State Del.Kelly M. Schulz(R) vs.Secretary John B. King(D) vs.Ashwani Jain(D) vs.State A.G. Doug Gansler(D) vs.County Exec. Rushern Baker(D) vs.Secretary Thomas Perez(D) vs.Wes Moore(D) vs.Dan Cox(R)
ME: Incumbent Janet Mills(D)
vs.Former Gov. Paul LePage(R)
MI: Incumbent Gretchen Whitmer(D)
vs.Chief James Craig(R)
vs.Police Chief Tudor Dixon(R)
vs.Garrett Soldano(R)
vs.John E. James(? R)
MN: Incumbent Tim Walz(DFL)
vs.Mayor Mike Murphy(R)
vs.State Sen.Scott Jensen(R)
vs.Michelle Benson(R)
vs.Paul Gazelka(R)
NE: Incumbent Pete Ricketts(R,term-limited)
vs.U.S.Senator Bob Krist(R)
vs.Chuck Herbster(R)
vs.Jim Pillen(R)
vs.Brett Lindstrom(R)
vs.Carol Blood(D)
vs.State Sen. Theresa Thibodeau(R)
NH: Incumbent Chris Sununu(R)
vs.Dan Feltes(D)
vs.Karen Testerman(R)
vs.Dr.Tom Sherman(D)
NM: Incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham(D)
vs.Commissioner Jay Block(R)
vs.State Rep.Rebecca Dow(R)
vs.Mark Ronchetti(R)
NV: Incumbent Steve Sisolak(D)
vs.A.G.Adam Laxalt(R)
vs.North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee(R)
vs.Dean Heller(R)
vs.Joe Lombardo(R)
vs.Mayor Michele Fiore(R)
NY: Incumbent Andrew Cuomo(D,resigned)
vs.Acting Gov.Kathy Hochul(D)
vs.Joe Pinion(R)
vs.Rob Astorino(R)
vs.Andrew Giuliani(R)
vs.US.Rep.Lee Zeldin(R)
vs.Tom Suozzi(D)
vs.Attorney General Letitia James(D)
OH: Incumbent Mike DeWine(R)
vs.Former Rep.Jim Renacci(R)
vs.Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley(D)
vs.Mayor John Cranley(D)
OK: Incumbent Kevin Stitt(R)
vs.State Sen. Ervin Yen(R)
vs.Connie Johnson(D)
vs.Joy Hofmeister(D)
vs.Natalie Bruno(L)
OR: Incumbent Kate Brown(D,term-limited)
vs.Gov. nominee Bud Pierce(R)
vs.Paul Romero(R)
vs.Casey Kulla(D)
vs.Kerry McQuisten(R)
vs.Tina Kotek(D)
vs.Nicholas Kristof(D)
vs.Tobias Read(D)
vs.State Rep. Christine Drazan(R)
vs.Julian Bell(D)
PA: Incumbent Tom Wolf(D,term-limited)
vs.U.S.Rep. Lou Barletta(R)
vs.Commissioner Joe Gale(R)
vs.A.G.Josh Shapiro(D)
vs.William McSwain(R)
vs.U.S.Rep.Melissa Hart(R)
vs.State Sen.Scott Martin(R)
vs.State Sen. Scott Martin(R)
vs.State Sen. Doug Mastriano(R)
RI: Incumbent Gina Raimondo(D,to Cabinet)
vs.Gov. Dan McKee(D)
vs.Ashley Kalus(R)
vs.Mayor Allan Fung(R)
vs.Secy.Matt Brown(D)
vs.Luis-Daniel Munoz(D)
vs.RI Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea(D)
vs.Seth Magainer(D)
vs.Helena Foulkes(D)
SC: Incumbent Henry McMaster(R)
vs.US.Rep.Joe Cunningham(D)
vs.State senator Mia McLeod(D)
SD: Incumbent Kristi Noem(R)
vs.State Rep. Billie Sutton(? D)
vs.Speaker Steven Haugaard(R)
vs.Jamie R. Smith(D)
TN: Incumbent Bill Lee(R)
vs.Jason Martin(D)
vs.Carnita Atwater(D)
vs.J B Smiley(D)
TX: Incumbent Greg Abbott(R)
vs.Beto O`Rourke(D)
vs.Chad Prather(R)
vs.State Sen.Don Huffines(R)
vs.U.S.Rep. Allen West(R)
vs.Deirdre Gilbert(D)
VT: Incumbent Phil Scott(R)
vs.Brenda Siegel(D)
WI: Incumbent Tony Evers(D)
vs.Tim Michels(R)
vs.CEO Jonathan Wichmann(R)
vs.Rebecca Kleefisch(R)
vs.State Rep. Timothy Ramthun(R)
WY: Incumbent Mark Gordon(R)
vs.Theresa Livingstone(D)
vs.Rex Rammell(R) 		Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Local Issues
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty

[Title9]





Page last updated: Apr 29, 2023; copyright 1999-2022 Jesse Gordon and OnTheIssues.org