The nation’s only Black governor tells theGrio he’s focused on helping Democrats win in November, even as his growing national profile continues to fuel presidential speculation.
As the nation’s only Black governor and one of the few national Democrats able to break through in a party that remains unpopular with a majority of voters, Wes Moore is in demand as Democrats across the country deploy him to build enthusiasm and secure wins in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
In recent days, Moore, with his rising national profile and politician’s charm, has been hitting the road across the country to support Democrats up and down the ballot.
“We’ve received a lot of requests from people from around the country to go and campaign for different candidates,” Moore told theGrio during a phone interview just before he traveled to South Carolina for a meet and greet with Democrats in support of longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, and Georgia to support Democratic candidates like Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, and U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff.
Moore also travels to Nevada on Tuesday to campaign with the state’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford, for re-election.
“I’m always willing to go support people who I think are going to be good partners to us inside this work, and people who are prepared to disrupt the status quo,” said the 47-year-old U.S. Army veteran and former entrepreneur, who became Maryland’s first Black governor in 2023.
Referring to a list of recent endorsements of Maryland Democrats, more than 93% of whom won their primary elections, Moore asserted, “If you look at the success we had in our ‘Leave No One Behind’ slate, it was really because I wanted good partners inside of Maryland, but I want the same thing for people around the country.”
While it’s not unusual for a governor to campaign outside of their state, that role is reserved for political figures with a strong national appeal. And for a first-term governor whose political career began just three years ago, it speaks to Moore’s fast-growing popularity, which has included rumors of a 2028 presidential run.
Moore, who is running for re-election this November, has denied that he is running for president and has instead said he’s focused on delivering for Maryland residents.
However, his increased presence on national cable news programs and campaigning beyond Maryland are likely to continue fueling speculation about a run for the White House.
Perhaps ironically, Moore’s visit to South Carolina was at the invitation of the state Democratic Party, which, barring any changes by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), will oversee the party’s first presidential primary election.
Jermaine Johnson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in South Carolina, told theGrio that Moore was very well received by South Carolina Democrats, who could help determine the party’s next presidential nominee in 2028.
“They loved him,” he recalled. “They love his story, you know, the things that he talked about in terms of understanding the assignment and what’s at stake, and how he wants to help make America the place where we all can thrive and have opportunities to do amazing things.”
Moore’s last visit to South Carolina also fueled rumors that he is eyeing the presidency when he visited Congressman Clyburn’s annual “World Famous Fish Fry,” which has welcomed many presidential candidates in years past. Clyburn earned the title of presidential kingmaker after his endorsement of Joe Biden saved his then-declining campaign and, ultimately, helped him win the presidency in 2020.
Moore’s budding relationship with Clyburn, who is running for reelection to partially help advise Hakeem Jeffries as the next likely Speaker of the U.S. House, certainly puts a spotlight on the role the 85-year-old congressman could play in Moore’s own hypothetical presidential campaign.
“I consider myself a very lucky man that I can consider Congressman Clyburn a friend, and that he’s very much a guide to me because I think he’s had a remarkable legacy of true public service,” Moore told theGrio.
The governor made no mention of a presidential run when reminded of the 2028 rumors. He simply said he “jumped” at the chance to visit when invited by Clyburn and emphasized, “I’d be excited to do it again.”
Moore was sure to keep the focus on Maryland and the work he is doing in the state, from driving down crime rates to expanding economic opportunity amid a growing affordability crisis exacerbated by President Donald Trump‘s war in Iran.
“We’re grateful that I think people from around the country are paying attention to the good work that’s happening in Maryland,” said Moore, who noted his state has seen the “fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America” and “the fastest academic recovery from COVID that’s happened anywhere in America.”
The governor also touted economic policies that have worked in Maryland, which he believes can work in other states across the country, from raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and banning price gouging and price manipulation by supermarkets to signing a bill that provides ratepayer refunds to lower energy costs amid high gas and energy prices as a result of Trump’s war with Iran and global tariffs.
Johnson said he was particularly moved by Moore’s discussion with South Carolina Democrats about his pardons of tens of thousands of Marylanders with marijuana convictions.
“That’s one of the things that I want to do here in South Carolina,” the gubernatorial candidate told theGrio. He continued, “We know families have been torn apart for cannabis-related offenses here in South Carolina and across the country, and we need to restore families. We need to put fathers back in the homes.”
Johnson said he was also impresseed by Moore’s ability to drive down Maryland’s crime rate by 60%, adding, “I think with us having a homicide rate higher than that of California, if we did something like that, we can help to alleviate some of the issues that we have in South Carolina.”
If elected in November, Johnson would join Moore on a shortlist of African-American governors. To date, only three Black Americans (including Moore) have been elected governor.
Johnson said that while he would be honored to join the handful of Black Americans to be elected governor of a state, he is more focused on a military-inspired phrase often used by Gov. Moore: “Leave no one behind.”
“I believe in the same model,” said Johnson, who told theGrio Moore gave him some sound campaign advise to “[not] be afraid to be who I am” and “don’t be afraid to talk to anybody and everybody.”
He continued, “I believe we should leave nobody behind, no matter where they come from, no matter what they look like, no matter what they’ve been through.”I think we need to give everybody opportunities to achieve the American dream.”
Moore said he believes Democratic candidates, most especially like Johnson and Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, should “not listen to conventional wisdom” by only speaking to one particular group of voters.
“I think for Jermaine, I think for Keisha in Georgia, and I think for Aaron in Nevada, I think that is going to be the key to winning,” he said. “When you take a philosophy like we have in Maryland, where we say we leave no one behind, you actually have to mean that in the way you campaign and in the way that you govern.”
Reflecting on his own unconventional rise in politics and the potential history that can continue to be made in November, Governor Moore told theGrio, “This was a task that was hoped for before we were even born, and there are a lot of people who thought that a story like mine could actually be possible.”
While he is still young in his political life, you wouldn’t know it, as he turned a discussion of his historic rise in politics back to the issues voters say are top of mind as they head to the polls in November.
“Every morning I wake up [I’m] not excited about the fact that we made history, but I’m excited about the fact that what we can do to make child poverty history, what we can do to make economic inequality history, what we can do to make people walking around without health coverage history,” said Moore. “That’s the kind of stuff that I’m more focused on.”
