Gubernatorial Nominee Began Government Education Through Local Homeschool Program
Maryland gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox began learning about the legislative process as a student at Wellspring Christian Fellowship’s homeschool education program, located in Sabillasville (formerly based in Walkersville). From 7th through 12th grade, Cox participated in an Applied Civics legislative internship designed to give students hands-on experience with the practical workings of government.
The internship program allowed students to work alongside Cox’s father, Gary Cox, who pastors Wellspring Christian Fellowship and serves as superintendent of the church’s 44-year-old education program. Through the experience, students learned how to advocate for legislation and regulations that support and preserve alternative education programs.
During Maryland’s 90-day legislative session, interns receive training in Annapolis, where they learn to read and analyze bills, prioritize legislation, write testimony, meet with lawmakers, and, in some cases, testify before legislative committees. The program focuses on legislation affecting education, youth, and families.
Cox was the first student to participate in the Wellspring Christian Fellowship School internship program. In its early years, he had legislative bills physically mailed to his home, where he read and organized them into categories based on their importance for his father to review. With between 2,200 and 2,900 bills introduced each year, Cox developed an ability to quickly review legislation and help identify bills requiring attention, saving his father hundreds of hours of work. He also testified before legislative committees on several bills.
The internship experience provided Cox with a foundation in legislative affairs and earned him 21 pre-law credits toward his major at the University of Maryland, where he graduated, exactly 50 years after that of his grandfather, E. L. Harlan, whom the program’s account identifies as a direct descendant of Chief Justice Harlan of the post-Civil War era.
Cox later served as a Maryland state delegate representing District 6 before receiving his first gubernatorial nomination in 2022.
The Wellspring Christian Fellowship School internship program is scheduled to begin its 45th year during the 2027 Maryland legislative session, continuing its mission of providing students with firsthand experience in government and the legislative process.
