John Herman Cox (né Kaplan; born July 15, 1955) is an American businessman, housing developer, and political activist.

Cox became the Republican nominee in the 2018 California gubernatorial election, after placing second in the state's June 5 nonpartisan blanket primary.

Following her divorce from his biological father, his mother married Thomas Cox, a post office supervisor, who adopted him and moved the family to the Chicago suburb of Alsip, Illinois.

degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law at night while working days at Coopers & Lybrand as an accountant.

Cox hosted The Progressive Conservative, a twice-weekly bought-time radio talk show on low-wattage WJJG 1530 AM in Chicago.

[20] Featuring guests like Michael Moriarty,[21] its themes included criticism of trial lawyers and creation of a website in March 2003 that nominated public figures (such as Janeane Garofalo, Martin Sheen, and Jacques Chirac) as "Friends of Saddam".

[23] At the 2006 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Cox debated the issue of capital punishment, siding as an opponent of the death penalty.

[24] In 2004, Cox garnered 29.26% of the vote running against incumbent Democrat Eugene Moore in the election for Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

[32][33] Cox authored different versions of the Neighborhood Legislature constitutional amendment initiative but failed to qualify it due to lack of signatures for each of the four consecutive general ballots from 2012 to 2018.

Cox also received endorsements from eight Republican members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes, Jeff Denham, and Mimi Walters,[39] as well as by the National Right to Life Committee.

In the general election that November, he lost to Democratic nominee and incumbent lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom, who won by roughly 24 points.

On May 4, 2021, Cox began his campaign in the recall election to replace Newsom as governor, branding himself as "the beast", running against "beauty".

He has taken other socially conservative positions, including opposing gay rights and the separation between church and state, while supporting the construction of a border wall.

[55][better source needed] Cox has stated that he opposes the death penalty on grounds of his religious commitment to the Roman Catholic Church as well as the financial burden associated with the procedure.

[56] Cox did not support Donald Trump during the 2016 United States presidential election, voting for Libertarian Gary Johnson instead.

Cox's support for the Libertarian ticket in 2016 and his ambivalence toward President Trump drew criticism from some Republicans as aligning with the Never Trumper movement.

[59] President Trump endorsed John Cox on May 19, 2018, via Twitter stating "California finally deserves a great Governor, one who understands borders, crime and lowering taxes".

[65] In February 2018, Cox drew criticism for comments he made in 2007 linking gay rights with transvestism, polygamy, and bestiality.