First-time Democratic candidate Wesley Moore, an author and former CEO of an anti-poverty nonprofit, has been elected Maryland’s first black governor, according to projections.
Moore, 43, a U.S. Army Ranger war veteran and investment banker who had the vocal backing of TV maven Oprah Winfrey, was projected to beat Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick) in their Nov. 8 gubernatorial race to succeed the term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
Moore had 60.5 percent of the votes with about half of precincts reporting, according to the Maryland Secretary of State Office. Cox had 36 percent.The Associated Press called the race for Moore, who is poised to become the third African-American governor in the nation’s history.
“I am grateful because you believed. You believed that in this moment our state could be bolder. And you believed in the son of an immigrant, a graduate of a two-year college, a US Army combat veteran, and a non-profit leader who had never run for office before,” Moore said in a statement.
Cox, 47, a conservative attorney endorsed by former President Donald Trump, vowed to file bills restricting abortions, banning mask and vaccine mandates, eliminating transgender rights, and authorizing a federal audit of the 2020 elections if elected.
The Moore-Cox race was one of 36 governor elections on ballots across the country and one of a few where Democrats were expected to prevail in a race to succeed a sitting Republican.
Democrats have a 2-to-1 voting advantage in Maryland and Moore raised 10 times the money Cox did. In fact, Cox’s largest donation came during the GOP primary—$1 million from the Democratic Governors Association to elevate a controversial MAGA candidate believed to be too right-wing for deep-blue Maryland.
In Maryland, that gambit appears to work as Moore was never challenged by Cox in cruising into the Governor’s mansion in Annapolis.
Moore emerged the winner of a nine-candidate Democratic primary in July that included six campaigns that raised more than $1 million each.
The field included U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, State Comptroller Peter Franchot, former Maryland attorney general Douglas Gansler, former U.S. education secretary John King, Jr., and Clinton White House official Jon Baron.
Moore came to prominence a decade ago when Winfrey identified him as having the “it” factor after writing a best-selling book, ‘The Other Wes Moore.’
Winfrey also narrated ads on Moore’s behalf, saying in one, “This moment that we’re in demands a different type of leader. For governor in Maryland, you have one in my friend Wes Moore.”
Raised by a widowed Jamaican-immigrant mother, Moore is the first black Rhodes Scholar from Johns Hopkins University who, as chief executive of the Robin Hood Foundation, raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fight poverty.
Moore, in campaign addresses, insists everyone deserves an equal opportunity to succeed, saying that as a former Wall Street investment banker, he knows Maryland can become more competitive and more equitable so “no one is left behind.”
His platform includes a plan to combat climate change in his first 100 days in office. He vows to protect abortion rights, close the racial wealth gap, and help older residents and retirees to stay in Maryland.
Moore tells voters he and lieutenant governor running mate Aruna Miller, both children of immigrants, are the only ticket in either party’s primaries with legislative, executive, military, and nonprofit experience.
Cox worked as a Christian school teacher and real estate agent before earning a law degree from Regent University. His law firm sued Hogan over COVID-19 restrictions and represented a man who sued local officials for arresting him for not wearing a mask at a polling site.
He ran for the U.S. House in 2016, losing the Maryland Congressional District 8 (CD 8) election to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was the lead manager for Trump’s second impeachment in 2021 and now sits on the House Select Committee on the Jan.6 breach.
Cox was elected as a delegate to a four-year term in the Maryland General Assembly in 2018, where he is regarded as one of its most conservative lawmakers, sponsoring stymied bills seeking to restrict abortions, limit the governor’s emergency powers, protect gunners’ rights, and require schools to provide parents information about the health and well-being of their children.
Cox vigorously opposed Maryland’s COVID-19 mitigation measures and challenged the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory after observing mail-in ballot counts in Philadelphia.
He chartered buses for the Jan. 6 rally and, during the Capitol protest, called Vice President Mike Pence “a traitor” in a Twitter post he later deleted.
Cox’s platform was similar to Trump-endorsed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s campaign.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
