Wes Moore elected as Maryland’s first Black governor

AP | Democrat Wes Moore was elected Maryland’s first Black governor Tuesday, defeating Republican Dan Cox in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1.

Moore’s victory flips a governor’s office from Republican to Democratic. Of the 36 governor’s races this year, Maryland and Massachusetts represented the best chances for Democrats to regain a governor’s office at a time when the GOP holds a 28-22 edge in governor’s seats. Republican governor Larry Hogan is term limited.

Only two other Black politicians have ever been elected governor in the United States – Virginia’s Douglas Wilder in 1989, and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts in 2006.

With the slogan “leave no one behind,” the former combat veteran and former CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations campaigned on creating equal opportunity for Maryland residents.

“This can be Maryland’s moment,” Moore said in a debate last month. “We have amazing people and incredible potential, but not everybody’s in a position to succeed.”

Moore, 44, defeated a first-term state legislator who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who only received 32 percent of the vote in Maryland in the 2020 presidential election.

During their only debate, Moore criticized Cox for attending the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021, before Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Moore described Cox as “an extremist election-denier whose rhetoric and his policies are not only dangerous and divisive, but will take our state backwards.”

Moore, a political newcomer is a longtime businessman and philanthropist who ran on a platform of eliminating childhood poverty and ensuring Maryland remains a state dedicated to reproductive rights.