BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has been reelected, defeating his Republican challenger, former state Del. Dan Cox, the Associated Press projects.
Moore, a combat veteran and former CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations, made history when he was elected Maryland’s first Black governor in 2022.
The election marked his second victory over Cox, who challenged him in the 2022 general election for governor. Cox ran for governor a second time after an unsuccessful bid in 2024 for the 6th Congressional District Republican nomination.
During Moore's first term, Baltimore saw historic drops in crime. Maryland has also seen large drops in crime, in line with trends across the country. In an interview with WMAR-2 News before the election, when asked what he was most proud of, Moore pointed to public safety.
"I'm proud of the fact that we've had amongst the fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America, all across the state of Maryland. We're now at 40-year lows. We're really proud of that," Moore said.
Budget shortfalls have clouded legislative sessions over the last few years, at one point hitting more than $3 billion. Moore was asked whether there is a plan to get Maryland off the cycle of solving budget issues each year.
"I think there's only two ways of being able to address that and create sustainable growth. You've got to control your spend, and you need to increase your top line, which means you need to have business growth and development, and we've been doing that during our time," Moore said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WMAR-2 News is continuing to monitor election results. Click here for the latest on state races we're following.
Facebook 
TikTok 
YouTube
Instagram
Threads
X
