Edward F. Cox

Early life, family, education, and military service

Cox was born to Howard Ellis Cox and Anne Crane Delafield (Finch) Cox in Stony Brook Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York. He attended Westhampton Beach Elementary School and Allen-Stevenson School in New York City. Cox is named for his grandfather, Judge Edward R. Finch, a prominent New York jurist who served as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court (1915–1943), Presiding Justice of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, and Associate Judge on the New York Court of Appeals. His father, Howard Ellis Cox, was a decorated World War II aviator, New York lawyer, and Long Island real estate developer.

Cox graduated from the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (1968) and Harvard Law School (1972). Cox was battalion commander of his Army ROTC unit at Princeton where he put together and accredited a seminar on war. He completed officer and airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia and subsequently served as a reserve officer with the 11th Special Forces Group.

Career

Private sector

Cox was an associate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He later practiced law with William Colby, a Nixon administration figure. As of 1997, Cox had become a partner in the Donovan Leisure firm. Subsequently, he was a member of the management committee and chairman of the corporate department at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

Government

From 1981 to 1983, Cox served in the Reagan Administration as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of a government corporation, The United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation. He has served Presidents Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush in the international arena. He has visited with numerous officials, including heads of state or government, in more than 30 countries.

Cox was commissioner of the Commission on Judicial Nomination (nominating candidates for New York's highest court) from 1991 to 2009 and was chairman of the New York Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (1995 to 2008).

Cox was a Trustee of the State University of New York (SUNY) from 1995 to 2009. From 1999 to 2009, as co-chairman and chairman of SUNY's Charter School Committee, Cox founded SUNY's Charter School Institute and led the authorization of fifty charter schools.

In 2006, Cox served as the chairman of newly elected Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's environmental and energy transition team.

Publications

In 1968 and 1969, Cox researched and co-authored The Nader Report on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which spawned "Nader's Raiders" and the rejuvenation of the FTC as a consumer advocate.

Cox's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, the Antitrust Law Journal and the New York Post.

Politics

Cox has assisted Republican candidates in New York at all levels in numerous election cycles. In the 1994 state election, Cox played a key role in electing George Pataki governor and Dennis Vacco attorney general.

Cox was rumored to be considering a run for Governor of New York in 2006 if then-Gov. George Pataki opted not to seek re-election. Pataki did not run again, but Cox later chose instead to seek the seat held by incumbent U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D) in the 2006 New York U.S. Senate election. However, after Pataki endorsed a rival Republican--Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro—for Senate, Cox announced on October 14, 2005, that he was no longer running.

In 2007 and 2008, Cox chaired John McCain's presidential campaign efforts in the State of New York.

New York Republican Party Chairman (2009–2019; 2023-present)

Cox was elected chairman of the New York State Republican Committee at the committee's meeting on September 30, 2009. Cox had a seven-point agenda for the future when elected chairman.

Cox announced on May 20, 2019, that he was joining President Donald Trump's re-election campaign and that he would not run for re-election as chairman of the state committee. He said, "Serving as Chairman of the NYGOP over the last ten years has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my life, and I will continue to actively help elect more Republicans here in New York'". On July 1, 2019, Erie County Republican Chair Nick Langworthy succeeded Cox.

On March 13, 2023, Cox was again elected to serve as chair of the New York Republican State Committee.

Personal life

In 1971, Cox married Tricia Nixon, the daughter of President Richard Nixon, in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. The wedding was described in Life Magazine as "a union 'akin to American royalty'". The New York Times devoted two columns on its front page to the Cox-Nixon wedding, describing Cox as "tall, fine-boned and handsome", and as "the scion of Easterners whose ancestors go back to the leaders of the American Revolution".

Edward and Tricia Cox have a son, Christopher Nixon Cox. The Coxes reside on Long Island, New York.

References

References

1. Landers, Jennifer. (August 26, 2010). "Chris Cox: Politics, a Family Legacy". [[The East Hampton Star]].
2. ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 16, 1965
3. Lynch, Ray. (April 7, 1989). "Howard Cox, 76, Prominent Lawyer". [[Sun Sentinel]]}} Per the ''Sentinel'', this article in the ''Sun Sentinel'' was supplemented with information from the ''[[The New York Times.
4. (July 22, 1999). "PUBLIC LIVES; Steady Eddie Cox, the Discreet Son-in-Law". [[The New York Times]].
5. (6 October 2009). "Ed Cox to speak at GOP 'meet the candidates' event".
6. (11 June 1971). "The Groom: Ed's suitable consort". [[Boca Raton News]].
7. (6 October 2009). "State GOP chair to attend Candidates night".
8. "Member Profile: Mr. Edward F. Cox". Republican National Lawyers Association.
9. Smith, Ben. (May 2, 2005). "Newest Nixon: Cox Considers Hillary Race".
10. (April 14, 1997). "NIXON PAL'S SLUR WON'T PASSOVER".
11. "Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission 90th Anniversary Symposium 90th Anniversary Symposium".
12. (December 30, 2016). "After Success in Real Estate, Edward Noble Found Federal Job Frustrating". Wall Street Journal.
13. (March 27, 1983). "U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session, May 18, 1983". U.S. Government Printing Office.
14. "Edward F. Cox, Board Member".
15. (May 13, 2010). "2010 Richard Nixon Legacy Lecture by Edward F. Cox".
16. "Remembering Richard Nixon".
17. [http://nysegov.com/cjn/assets/documents/press/CJN%20Vacancies%20press%20release.pdf CJN Vacancies. Press release] nysegov.com {{dead link. (October 2025)
18. (December 9, 2025). "Press Release - NYS Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation".
19. (January 26, 1996). "Newly Appointed Trustees Stir Up Public Colleges". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
20. (September 1, 2014). "Light Shines in Harlem: New York's First Charter School and the Movement It Led". Chicago Review Press.
21. "Archived copy".
22. (May 2011). "Accountability in Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Charter School Closure. School Closure Guide". National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
23. (November 20, 2006). "Cuomo's Transition Team".
24. (November 30, 1969). "The Nader Report". The New York Times.
25. (December 29, 2019). "Opinion; This Isn't Your Father's Impeachment". Wall Street Journal.
26. (March 24, 2014). "Rigging Campaign Finance to Rig Elections". Wall Street Journal.
27. "Edward F. Cox".
28. "Vol. 72, No. 3, 2005 of Antitrust Law Journal on JSTOR". Antitrust Law Journal.
29. "Ed Cox | New York Post".
30. (May 17, 2005). "Nixon son-in-law plots N.Y. Senate bid".
31. Hernandez, Raymond. (October 15, 2005). "Pirro's Path to Republican Nomination Is Clearer". New York Times.
32. Haberman, Maggie. (July 6, 2010). "McCain advisers quit Chris Cox campaign".
33. (September 29, 2009). "For Nixon In-Law, G.O.P. Post and a Giuliani Clash". New York Times.
34. Freedlander, David. (April 14, 2010). "Ed Cox and the Republican Restoration". Capitol News.
35. (20 May 2019). "NY GOP Chair Ed Cox Stepping Down".
36. (1 July 2019). "New York GOP Taps New Leader as Party Looks to Bounce Back". U.S. News & World Report.
37. Destra, Shantel. (March 16, 2023). "NY's new GOP Chair Ed Cox: 'We are on the offensive'".
38. (10 September 2014). "Nixon son-in-law Ed Cox on the difference between Watergate and today's opponent bugging scandal".
39. (12 April 2011). "Ed Cox and the Republican Civil War".
40. (16 May 2010). "Nixon grandson Chris Cox scandalizes Long Island society".
41. Eckstrom, Jim. (May 2, 2019). "A change for New York GOP?".