Governor Wes Moore denies he’s running for president, but that hasn’t stopped discussion in the media about the possibility he will. Moore’s behavior encourages speculation, and for two weeks in August he was mostly unavailable to Maryland media but appeared several times on national news. He’s raised his profile further with recent back-and-forth exchanges with President Donald Trump, going so far as to call the president a “chicken hawk” and telling him to “keep our names out of your mouth”. As California Governor Gavin Newsom attracts notice for his online trolling of President Trump, Moore seems eager to keep pace by engaging in his own public feud with the president.
There’s nothing wrong with our governor trying to reach the widest possible audience by appearing on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, but that effort should never come at the expense of Maryland reporters. Moore may believe his political position is strong enough to withstand an absence from Maryland media, but recent polling suggests otherwise. How the governor spends his time says a lot about what he values, and unfortunately for Maryland, the national media seems to be what he’s prioritizing.
Moore’s talking points land better with national audiences who aren’t well acquainted with our state. When he talks about our budget, the national media isn’t always prepared to ask why he believed Maryland was in a fortunate financial position when he took office but now believes he inherited a fiscal disaster. National media doesn’t always know to ask why our electric rates are soaring, or have the background knowledge to point out that the fee increases contained in this year’s budget more than cancel out the small tax break he repeatedly cites.
With each national interview, Governor Moore is telling stories to an unsuspecting country. His quick smile and ready assurances that Maryland will soon be thriving are familiar to people in our state but less well-known to a national audience. Much of that audience probably thinks about Governor Moore the way Marylanders did in 2022, when many of them were inspired by a charismatic young candidate who seemed to value substance over style.
Democratic primary voters that year chose Moore over established political leaders, trusting him to focus relentlessly on Maryland and work tirelessly to address their problems. Though his victory was impressive given the fact it was his first campaign, it was far from overwhelming. Of the approximately 671,000 votes cast by Democratic primary voters in 2022, only about 218,000 chose Moore. Our governor’s political rise in Maryland was far from inevitable.
Understanding that reality is important for Democrats across the country as they consider who should represent the party on the national stage. There are several talented and viable candidates who could challenge Republicans in 2028, and Democrats shouldn’t settle on Moore because they think he’s a guaranteed winner.
Governor Moore faced a weak opponent in the 2022 general election. Dan Cox was a pro-Trump candidate in a state that’s overwhelmingly opposed to the president’s policies. Moore would have fared worse had he faced a competitive candidate like former Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kelly Shultz, who lost to Cox in the Republican primary. Shultz was endorsed by former Governor Larry Hogan, who enjoyed sky-high approval ratings that would climb to 77% as he left office. Democratic interest groups understood Moore’s vulnerability to a viable challenger and worked hard to boost Cox over Shultz in the primary.
The national media often implies a sense of inevitability around Governor Moore, as if his charisma is so deep that becoming Maryland’s governor was inevitable. But the 67% of Maryland Democrats who voted for a candidate other than Moore in the 2022 primary know this isn’t true. A recent poll shows only around 50% of Marylanders approve of the job he’s doing. A spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association called the poll “silly,” stealing a page from President Trump’s playbook to portray any unfavorable development as fake news.
It’s not clear why anyone would think a 50% approval rating was unreasonable given Maryland’s list of problems. Federal layoffs are increasing unemployment and our private sector can’t provide enough jobs to accommodate these workers. A new tax on digital services makes our state less competitive, while large government grants to nonprofit organizations are mostly unaccounted for. Maryland instituted a hiring freeze at state agencies just months after Governor Moore made headlines by announcing plans to grow the state workforce by hiring federal workers. Moore hasn’t built the Red Line light rail in Baltimore, even though his first two years in office coincided with President Joe Biden’s transit-friendly administration. As states in the South and Midwest benefit from investments in manufacturing, Maryland hasn’t enjoyed similar success. Crime in Baltimore has decreased significantly, but the city remains one of the most dangerous places in the country. The well-intentioned investment in education driven by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will cause multibillion-dollar deficits as soon as 2030, even after the modest changes enacted this year.
Governor Moore likes to give the impression that he’s fighting for Maryland. If that’s true, it’s not clear he’s winning. Well into his third year in office, more than half of Marylanders have a negative view of our state’s economy and 67% believe they’re paying too much in state taxes.
Not all the problems driving that gloomy outlook are the governor’s fault alone, but leaders are defined by what they accomplish in the face of challenging circumstances. Despite his sunny assessments, catchy phrases and positive demeanor, Marylanders know that not everything in our state is well. As he continues to engage aggressively with national media and travel the country, Governor Moore is telling a story about his policies working. He reflexively blames former Governor Hogan or President Trump whenever he’s presented with negative news. Moore can talk about the miracle he’s leading in Maryland, but those of us who live here are less interested in sunny assessments or passing the blame and more interested in results.
Given the complexities of his job, Governor Moore is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and a fair amount of grace, but only if he’s fully focused on Maryland. Our governor has already devoted a significant amount of time to raising his national profile, and his embrace of tit-for-tat exchanges with President Trump seems destined to raise it further. Rather than exploit his recent publicity, our governor could earn a much more powerful type of press if he recreated Larry Hogan’s bipartisan coalition and helped Marylanders feel better about their lives and the future of our state.
Colin Pascal (colinjpascal@outlook.com) is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, a registered Democrat, a former member of the Veterans for Hogan Coalition and a graduate student in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. He lives in Annapolis.
