Moore's bitter Maryland fights weigh on push to '28
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's national star is on the rise, but his relationships with fellow Democrats in his backyard are fraying.
Why it matters: Moore appears to have little control over his state's Democrat-led legislature, as lawmakers repeatedly defy his wishes and override his vetoes even as he builds a national profile ahead of a potential 2028 campaign for president.
- Several Maryland Democrats told Axios that Moore is talented, but he's struggled because of a lack of experience and, at times, arrogance.
- State lawmakers overrode 19 of the bills Moore vetoed in December, including a bill to study reparations for descendants of enslaved people. Sources told Axios that veto particularly upset Black lawmakers.
Driving the news: Moore leads a solidly blue state, but his aggressive push to redraw his state's congressional maps to help Democrats gain an extra seat in the U.S. House has so far stalled in Annapolis.
- Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson has resisted Moore's calls to hold a vote on the proposal even after the state House of Delegates passed a redistricting bill in response to President Trump's mid-decade gerrymandering push.
- Moore argues the effort is necessary to protect democracy.
- But Maryland senators worry that if they gerrymander congressional maps, the state Supreme Court could overturn them and redraw the lines to be less favorable to Democrats.
The fissures seemed to deepen this week after Moore's State of the State address.
- Moore said he and Ferguson would "work together" despite their disagreements. But he also urged lawmakers to not "let the democratic process die" — which a person close to the state Senate Democratic Caucus described as "an escalation."
What they're saying: Moore is "not going to have difficulty getting reelected" to a second term this year, said Nina Smith, who was press secretary for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.
- "But he's going to have difficulty running for anything else nationally if he doesn't get the relationships right at home."
- Smith, who also was an aide to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, added that Moore has done "amazing things," such as working to improve public safety and support young men.
The other side: Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Moore, said the governor and the Democratic leaders in both chambers "all stood together" last month to unveil legislation aimed at lowering grocery costs.
- "There's a lot that they can work on together," he added, calling the back-and-forth over redistricting "just a disagreement."
Zoom in: Some Democrats in Maryland described Moore's skirmishes with the legislature as growing pains for a governor holding public office for the first time.
- They say it has sometimes been hard for officials to connect with Moore and his team.
- Insiders told Axios that situation has improved since Moore named a new chief of staff last year.
- Moore acknowledged this week that "it's taken time to build relationships, it's taken time to learn Annapolis." But he also was defiant. "I am an outsider at heart — and I don't see that changing," he said.
Some Democratic senators have bristled at Moore's redistricting pressure campaign, saying it has gone too far.
- U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Attorney General Eric Holder recently held a private call with members of the state's Legislative Black Caucus and urged them to embrace a new map, sources said.
- Some lawmakers raised logistical and other concerns during the meeting.
The intrigue: Some Democrats in Moore's orbit think his clashes with state Democrats could endear him to national voters looking for a political outsider, especially as the party's liberal base clamors for its leaders to take on Trump more aggressively.
- "The only people more unpopular than the DNC are state legislatures," said a national Democratic strategist close to Moore's team.
- "Any governor who's going up against their state legislature ... that's not a bad look generally. Even if you're not winning every battle, you're showing you're independent and that you are willing to fight."
- Still, some senior national Democrats quietly have wondered: If Moore can't control his own state legislature when it's led by his party, how could he handle Congress as president?
Flashback: When O'Malley was governor from 2007 to 2015, the Democrat-led legislature rarely tried to override his vetoes.
- O'Malley said it was an "uncomfortable moment" when Moore confronted Maryland Senate leaders during his State of the State address.
- But he also said Ferguson should bring the redistricting bill to the floor for a vote so Maryland can "blunt this authoritarian president."
