The fight to challenge Wes Moore comes down to this

Maryland voters will determine November’s matchup for governor Tuesday, with Democratic Gov. Wes Moore seeking a second term while nine Republicans line up to take him on.

The Associated Press called the Democratic primary for Moore not long after polls closed. He faced a nominal challenge from Montgomery County physician Eric Felber.

Two candidates are considered front-runners in the GOP field to face Moore: Dan Cox, the 2022 nominee, and businessman Ed Hale.

Hale, a retired bank founder and owner of the Baltimore Blast soccer team, joined the Republican Party only last summer. During the campaign, he told voters that he had long held conservative values and had been a Democrat only to facilitate his business ventures.

Cox, meanwhile, has been an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and had the president’s endorsement in the 2022 campaign.

Both Hale and Cox ran low-dollar, low-visibility campaigns in the primary. The winner will need to turn up his fundraising prowess to amplify his message against Moore, who has all the advantages of incumbency and $7 million in the bank.

Hale offered voters a broad message that he’d use his business acumen to better run the state and boost the economy. He said he would lower taxes and fees.

Cox offered a similar message, but went further by suggesting he’d work to cap and eventually eliminate property taxes.

But the Democratic Party ended up making the biggest splash in the largely low-key Republican primary. Moore and the Maryland Democratic Party put out ads in the last week of the race that charged that Cox is “too conservative” and Hale can’t be trusted because he switched parties.

Hale and Cox both denounced the ads as improper Democratic meddling in Republican affairs. Hale followed up with a fake image posted to social media showing Moore and Cox hugging, suggesting that the Democratic ads were serving to bolster Cox’s campaign to Republican voters.

Voter registration trends work in Moore’s favor as well. About 51% of registered voters are Democrats, nearly 24% are Republicans, and 23% are unaffiliated. For a Republican to win a statewide office, they must sway a significant portion of Democrats and unaffiliated voters — a challenging task under President Donald Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Maryland.

Moore, speaking to reporters after he voted in Annapolis on Tuesday morning, said he’s ready to take on whoever becomes the GOP nominee.

“We feel very good about the story that we have to tell and I’m looking forward to hearing theirs,” Moore said.

The Green Party will pick its nominee in July; so far the only candidate is Andy Ellis.