Gov. Wes Moore and his Republican challenger Dan Cox took the debate stage at Maryland Public Television on Tuesday, and while the candidates fielded a variety of questions, they didn’t provide a lot of answers.
Moore and Cox went head to head in 2022, but even with an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Cox only garnered 32% of the vote.
While the names on the November ballot will be quite familiar to Maryland voters, the candidates are in rather different positions than they were four years ago.
Moore is no longer a businessman turned political newcomer, but is instead a governor with a four-year track record that can’t seem to shake being brought up as a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential candidate shortlist.
Cox does not have Trump’s endorsement this election – as of now – and appears to be attempting to tone down some of the far-right extremism he exemplified during his last gubernatorial run.
Cox helped arrange tour buses to bring attendees to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, although he asserts he left before protestors stormed the building.
A poll released by the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) on Tuesday finds Cox to be trailing Moore by 27 percentage points.
Cox says he’s not concerned about the polling results and instead pointed to the fact that only 51% of likely voters said they would vote for Moore.
“The governor's pretty much almost underwater. I mean, half the state doesn't trust him. Half the state isn't committed to him,” Cox told reporters on Tuesday.
While Moore leads Cox by an over 2-1 margin, he also appears the favorite among unaffiliated voters – 40% say they’d vote for Moore, and only 14% say they’d vote for Cox.
In their first, and likely last, debate before the November election, Moore touted his gubernatorial accomplishments, while Cox tried to wield that very same report card against him.
But as far as concrete policy plans and what’s in store for Maryland under either of the two candidates’ leadership, the opponents had little to offer.
The state budget crunch
Maryland is facing an over $3 billion structural deficit next fiscal year, which the state legislature is constitutionally required to close.
It’s up to the governor to propose a plan for how to mend that gap, and when asked if Moore would do so through significant cuts or tax increases, he kept his answer vague and blamed his predecessors for consistent over spending.
“The only way that you can be able to address the fact that Maryland was just racking up the credit card and just passing it on is doing two things: you needed to be able to control your spending, and you needed to make sure that you had more private investment, and that's exactly what we've done,” Moore said.
Cox criticized the governor for not committing to avoiding a tax hike to close the shortfall and asserted he would provide tax cuts if elected.
“I can look in the camera, governor, and say I will not raise taxes and fees on my watch. And you have not been willing to do that, why is that? And I'll tell you this, I will cut taxes and fees,” Cox said, saying he would find savings in “improperly spent” money found in a Department of Human Services legislative audit.
National partnerships and ambitions
Although repeatedly stating he is closely aligned with Trump’s agenda, Cox said he would "absolutely" stand up to Trump in order to advocate for the needs of Marylanders.
“I am a Marylander first and last, and I'm an American first and last. I will work with whoever is the president, and that's the difference between myself and my opponent,” Cox said.
Moore didn’t escape the debate without being queried about his national ambitions, despite repeatedly denying he’s eyeing a 2028 presidential bid.
He would not directly answer a question asking if he would serve out his full term as governor if he wins reelection this November.
“Being the governor of Maryland has been the honor of a lifetime, and I would not be running for reelection if I was not committed to the people of Maryland,” Moore said.
When re-asked the question, Moore repeated that he is “committed to the people of Maryland,” and the state should be part of a border national conversation when it comes to the impact of Trump administration policies.
Cox accused the governor of plotting a presidential run throughout the debate and argued he is not putting the needs of Marylanders first.
“Dan Cox seems to be more concerned about my future than he is about the future of the people of Maryland,” Moore remarked.
On the record
Conservative media outlets and Moore’s Republican adversaries have taken aim at the accuracy of his military record, particularly when it comes to his Bronze Star Medal, the fourth-highest combat award of the United States Armed Forces.
In 2024, The New York Times reported that Moore had wrongly claimed a Bronze Star on a 2006 application for the White House fellowship program.
Moore apologized for what he and his former commanding officer described as a mistake and a paperwork error and was awarded a Bronze Star months later.
When asked if he has any regrets about how he handled that situation, Moore said he is “incredibly proud” of his military service.
“My definition of patriotism was being able and being willing to raise my hand and fight for this country because I love it that much, and I will never ever allow anybody, particularly people with political motivations, to be able to question that, or give me a reason to feel like in any way I should be ashamed of it,” the governor said.
Cox was also asked about his past, particularly surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
In addition to advertising buses to the riot, Cox worked with lawyers for Trump to try and overturn the 2020 election results and posted on social media that then Vice President Mike Pence was “a traitor.”
When asked if he stands by his election-denying actions and if he has any regrets, Cox said: “Well, absolutely, I mean, I regret tweeting. I mean, that was six years ago.”
Cox referred to the question as “political TMZ,” and said the focus should be on “the issues of the people of Maryland.”
Key Bridge rebuild
The two candidates exchanged barbs over the status of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild, which collapsed over two years ago after a cargo ship drifted into one of its piers.
Estimates to rebuild the bridge and the time it will take to do so have escalated in recent months, and Cox took aim at a new website the Moore administration launched last week to track the rebuild process.
“People can't drive on a website. They need a bridge, and I'll build it. And you know, Governor Hogan built the Harry Nice Bridge in under two years, or about two years, and under budget, three months before the time,” Cox said.
Moore asserted the bridge would be rebuilt in “record time” and that he intends to be the governor who will cut the ribbon on the project.
“I understand the urgency, and we are moving as fast as possible to get this bridge done,” Moore said.
The new bridge is anticipated to cost anywhere between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion and be completed by 2030.
Reparations
The Maryland Reparations Commission is expected to deliver preliminary recommendations on appropriate benefits to individuals whose ancestors were enslaved or impacted by discriminatory government policies by January.
The legislation creating that commission was vetoed by Moore – the nation’s only Black governor – who said in a statement that it was a “difficult decision” but that “now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.”
The legislature ultimately overrode Moore’s veto.
“I don't think that that is a way forward for Maryland to pay for something, you know, that is egregious,” Cox said when asked for his thoughts on reparations. “Do I have empathy, and do I wish to make sure that things are made right? Absolutely. But that can be done toda