Moore’s victory turns the governor’s office from a Republican to a Democrat. Of the 36 gubernatorial races this year, Maryland and Massachusetts represented the best chances for Democrats to reclaim the governorship at a time when the GOP holds a 28-22 lead in the governorships. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is term-limited. Only two other black politicians have ever been elected governor in the United States — Douglas Wilder of Virginia in 1989 and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts in 2006. Democrat Stacey Abrams would become the nation’s first black female governor if she wins her Georgia rematch against to the Republican governor. Brian Kemp. With the slogan “leave no one behind,” the former combat veteran and former CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations campaigned to create equal opportunities for Marylanders. “When I was an Army chief leading soldiers into combat in Afghanistan, we lived by a simple principle: Leave no one behind… Real patriotism is about bringing people together,” Moore told a crowd gathered in downtown Baltimore during his victory speech. “It means lifting each other up and making each other’s lives better.” Moore’s running mate, Aruna Miller, also made history in Maryland by becoming the first immigrant to win the office of lieutenant governor. Miller, who immigrated from India, is also the first Asian-American to be elected statewide. Moore, 44, defeated a first-term lawmaker endorsed by former President Donald Trump who received only 32 percent of the vote in Maryland in the 2020 presidential election. During their only conversation, Moore criticized Cox for attending the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021, before Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. Moore described Cox as an “extremist pro-choice denier whose rhetoric and policies are not only dangerous and divisive, but will take our state backwards.” Kevin Holbo, who voted for Moore in Annapolis, Maryland, cited the candidate’s resume as a former combat veteran who served in Afghanistan as well as a Rhodes Scholar with a business background as qualities that jumped out at him. “He just had all the right things to lead me in that direction,” Holmboe, 60, said after voting for Moore. The match was marred by Hogan’s refusal to endorse Cox, which he has described as a “sneaky QAnon Whack job”. Republican voters who backed Cox said Trump’s endorsement of the nominee was important to them. “Honestly, he’s a MAGA Republican,” said John Jacobs, 57, who voted for Cox in Annapolis, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. While explaining his vote for Cox, Jacobs quickly turned to criticism of Hogan, who is weighing a presidential run — possibly against Trump. “And Larry Hogan, who if my life depended on it, I probably wouldn’t vote for him, and I’m a Republican, for president.” Cox organized bus trips for protesters to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. Cox also said Biden’s victory should not be certified and tweeted that former Vice President Mike Pence was a “traitor.” Cox later deleted the tweet and apologized. Other candidates running for governor included David Lazar of the Libertarian Party. Nancy Wallace, of the Green Party. and David Harding, of the Labor Party. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown is also hoping to make history by becoming the state’s first black attorney general. Brown, a three-term congressman representing a majority-Black district in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, served as lieutenant governor for eight years. He lost the 2014 governor’s race to Hogan before winning his seat in the US House. Brown is running against Republican Michael Peroutka, a former Anne Arundel County Council member. A Republican has not been elected attorney general in Maryland since 1919. Edward DE Rollins was the last Republican to serve in the office, having been appointed to it in 1952. In another open statewide race, Democrat Brooke Lierman is running against Republican Barry Glassman for comptroller, who is the state’s tax collector. The comptroller holds one of three seats on the state’s powerful Board of Public Works, along with the governor and state treasurer.
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