Wes Moore, an author and executive, won the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland and will be a heavy favorite to take back the governor’s mansion for the party in November.
From a crowded field, the Democratic primary race eventually narrowed to three people: Moore, former Labor Secretary and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, and longtime state Comptroller Peter Franchot.
But the backing of in-state heavyweights, including Rep. Steny Hoyer and Maryland’s largest teachers’ union, and national celebrities (Moore is a regular on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and got Oprah Winfrey to narrate one of his ads) helped Moore lock up the support of Black voters and cruise to victory.
The Associated Press called the race on Friday, three days after the Tuesday primary. Moore will face GOP nominee Dan Cox in November.
President Joe Biden won Maryland by more than 30 percentage points in 2020, and its high population of Black voters and college-educated voters means it remains friendly territory for Democrats. But Republicans have managed to win the state’s governorship four times this decade.
Moore, 41, has an eye-popping résumé: He’s the author of a bestselling book, “The Other Wes Moore,” comparing his life with that of another Baltimore man with a same name who was convicted of murder. He’s also worked on Wall Street, served in the military, hosted a television show on the Oprah Winfrey Network and led a nonprofit.
But his glittering biography was challenged during the primary, with critics claiming he exaggerated his ties to Baltimore ― he did not actually live in the city until he was a college student ― and failed to correct interviewers who said he’d won a Bronze Star while serving in the Army.
