Wes Moore’s campaign is spending millions to cement Democrats’ hold on Maryland

Even though most political observers in Maryland view Gov. Wes Moore’s path to reelection as a cakewalk, the Moore campaign is still raising — and spending — cash like it’s going out of style.

A prolific fundraiser, Moore raked in $1.7 million from June through early August and has $6.5 million in the bank, according to state campaign finance reports. Yet over that same time, his campaign spent $1.7 million, with year-to-date totals of about $3.7 million.

His opponent, Republican Dan Cox, has $136,000 in his campaign account. His campaign has about $148,000 in outstanding obligations, meaning it owes more than it’s got.

A chunk of Moore’s campaign spending is meant to boost Democrats around the state at a time when Republicans are already weak.

Through mailers, rallies, direct transfers to other candidates or fundraisers, Moore’s campaign has funneled at least $1.2 million to Democrats in down-ballot races across the state, records show. Further spending is expected as Moore and the state Democratic Party look to flip a handful Republican-held legislative seats and county-level offices they’ve identified as vulnerable.

Carter Elliott IV, a spokesperson for Moore’s campaign, said the governor is “laser focused on electing commonsense leaders up and down the ballot in Maryland who will help him continue to strengthen Maryland’s economy, continue delivering record drops in crime, and build the best public schools possible.”

For a party already severely outnumbered in the legislature, a loss of even a few seats would erode what little influence Republicans have in state politics. The party has taken a rightward tack since former Gov. Larry Hogan left office in January 2023 and has struggled to connect with voters broadly in Maryland, partly a result of the adoption of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies, experts have said.

The most recent polling continues to bear that out, showing Moore up 27 points over Cox. The pair ran against each other in 2022, and Moore trounced the Trump-adjacent Cox on his way to securing the most votes for a gubernatorial candidate in state history. They will debate in October, though given the 2-to-1 advantage Maryland Democrats hold over Republicans, Cox is a heavy underdog.

But there is significant value, observers say, in Moore’s continuing to tour the state and blast his message. Moore, who earlier this year described himself as an outsider in Annapolis, can use the campaign trail to set his agenda and position himself for future endeavors.

“Even when candidates know they’ll win, they see every campaign as an opportunity to boost their own image, for either their work, in this case, as governor or for what they might want to move into in the future,” said Roger Hartley, a professor at the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs.

Elliott, in a statement, said Moore was taking nothing for granted and wanted voters to hear his record before casting a ballot.

Some of his campaign money has been spent on on out-of-state fundraisers and travel, which could be seen as a testing the waters for national office.

The Bulwark, an online news site, reported earlier this week that Moore’s staff and other would-be 2028-ers have begun collecting resumes in early primary states. A person familiar with Moore’s plans but was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed the report and said that they are in the early process of connecting with political operatives should Moore ultimately decide he wants to run for president.

Vanity Fair reported in early August that Elizabeth Bagley, a former ambassador to Brazil and Portugal who’s worked in every Democratic administration since President Bill Clinton’s, held a fundraiser for Moore at her Nantucket home. Bagley also held fundraisers for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Moore has traveled to South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada this summer, all under the official label of campaigning for Democratic candidates for governor. South Carolina is especially important in 2028 after the Democratic National Committee voted to make it the first primary contest of the 2028 cycle.

Moore has worked to forge a connection with Rep. Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina, whose influence over his state’s Democratic Party is immense. Biden parlayed his friendship with Clyburn to a win in the South Carolina presidential primary in 2020, lifting Biden’s initially sluggish campaign to the nomination.

In 2025 Moore traveled to the Palmetto state to attend a fundraiser for Clyburn, and a review of Moore’s monthly calendars show he has met with the congressman a handful of times in Washington.

More recently, Moore was in South Carolina in mid-July, spending time in both Charleston and Columbia, the state capital.