Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will seek a second term as the state’s top elected official, distancing himself from speculation that he was eyeing a presidential run in 2028.
Mr. Moore, a Democrat, made the announcement Tuesday in a video that recounted the highlights of his first term, such as reducing crime, gains in the middle class and reviving Baltimore’s bustling port after a malfunctioning cargo ship toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024.
“We cut taxes for veterans and cut taxes for the middle class. We declared that violent crime can’t and won’t be tolerated in our state. Now homicides in Baltimore are the lowest they have been in 50 years,” Mr. Moore said in the video. “And when crisis hit and the Key Bridge collapsed, we rallied. They said it would take 11 months to reopen the Port of Baltimore. We got it done in 11 weeks.”
The governor’s constant presence during the bridge cleanup elevated him into a potential White House contender.
And in the past month, social media spats with President Trump about crime in Maryland and a private trip abroad to hang out with actor George Clooney on his luxury yacht stoked further intrigue about Mr. Moore seeking a move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
During a CNN interview in April, Mr. Clooney, a major donor to the Democratic Party, heralded Mr. Moore as a “proper leader.”
But Mr. Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, said in the video announcing his reelection bid that he wasn’t into joining the political scene in the nation’s capital.
“The games of Washington are exhausting and, worse, are hurting people,” Mr. Moore said. “I’m not from that world.”
He has taken some lumps while navigating his responsibilities as the state’s chief executive.
This year began with his administration looking to patch up a $2.8 billion hole in the state’s budget.
Mr. Moore responded by signing the largest tax hike in Maryland’s history. That included $1.6 billion in new fees for residents, such as an increase in taxes for high earners and bumping up the surcharge on capital gains.
The state budget also raised taxes on sports betting, retail cannabis sales and technology companies while cutting $1.5 billion from public spending.
Mr. Moore later instituted a statewide hiring freeze and offered voluntary buyouts to workers in an effort to shave an additional $120 million from the personnel budget.
John Dedie, a political commentator who follows Maryland’s Legislature, said Mr. Moore’s fiscal management woes may offer an opening for Larry Hogan to exploit — if the former governor wants his old job back.
“Hogan’s mantra was no tax increases,” Mr. Dedie said. “He got elected because he did not increase taxes. So I think that the next legislative session, how it monetarily plays out, [Mr. Moore’s] got to avoid the taxes.”
Mr. Hogan, a Republican who held office from 2015-23, is eligible to run for governor again after sitting out a single four-year term. He lost the race for the U.S. Senate last fall to former Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
The Washington Times contacted Mr. Hogan for comment about a potential reentry into state politics.
Mr. Moore is the presumed front-runner in next year’s Democratic primary. The only other Democrat listed on the Maryland State Board of Elections website is Ralph Jaffe, a perennial candidate who has run for governor and the U.S. Senate since 1992.
So far, the two Republicans registered for next year’s race are John Myrick, a military veteran and former Harford County deputy sheriff, and Carl Brunner, a firearms instructor from Carroll County.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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