Wes Moore is getting four more years. The Democrat won reelection as governor of Maryland on Tuesday, defeating Republican Dan Cox in a rematch of their 2022 race. The Associated Press called the race for Moore on election night.
Moore made history four years ago when he defeated Cox to become Maryland’s 63rd governor and the first Black governor in the state’s history. His reelection secures a second term for one of the Democratic Party’s most closely watched leaders, and it keeps Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller by his side. Miller, elected alongside him in 2022, is Maryland’s first immigrant and first woman of color to hold the office.
Moore ran on his first-term record. During a debate with Cox last month, he pointed to the creation of nearly 60,000 businesses in the state and crime falling to record lows. He also leaned on his administration’s response to the March 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six construction workers after a cargo ship struck it.
“When crisis hit and the Key Bridge collapsed, we rallied,” Moore said. “They said it would take 11 months to reopen the port of Baltimore, and we got it done in 11 weeks.”
Looking ahead, Moore has said he wants to oversee construction of the new bridge. His second-term agenda also centers on making Maryland more affordable, tackling high energy costs, attracting new investment and businesses, and cutting state spending.
Moore also backed a ballot measure that would remove the state constitution’s requirement that congressional districts be compact and contiguous, which would clear the way for a new congressional map. He and other Maryland Democrats have framed it as a response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in other states.
As speculation about his national profile continues to grow, Moore insisted throughout the campaign that his focus was on home. “I wouldn’t be running for reelection if I wasn’t exclusively focused on the people of Maryland,” he told CBS News Baltimore last month.
Now, with a second term secured, Moore will have the chance to finish what he started.
