Maryland made history on Nov. 8, 2022 when voters elected Democrat Wes Moore as their new governor.  Moore is a new face in politics and will be the first African-American to walk into the State House in Annapolis and officially take a seat behind the governor’s desk. 

44 year-old Moore is a bestselling author and the former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, a non-profit organization with the goal of lifting families out of poverty. He ran alongside Indian-born Aruna Miller and will replace Republican Larry Hogan who completed the two term limit. Moore defeated Republican Dan Cox in a landslide, winning 64.7% of the vote. Moore will be just the fifth Black governor in US history. 

“He came across as youthful and dynamic which helped him get more votes,” said government teacher Mr. Andrew Ward.. 

“He sold himself as a moderate candidate who looks out for all Marylanders,” said Ward. This helped him get almost 1.3 million votes, vastly outpacing the more conservative candidate, Cox. 

Moore’s top priority is focusing on education, public safety, and healthcare. He plans to build easier pathways to high paying jobs for students as well as drive more students into STEM. He also plans to reduce illegal guns in the streets. Moore is an avid supporter of abortion rights, and plans to release funding for training of abortion providers on day one of his term. Finally, he plans to lower costs of healthcare and prescription drugs. 

Ward was asked what he believed Moore’s top three priorities should be. He responded, “education, maintaining whatever focus we need to come out of COVID, and the economy.”   Moore plans to improve childcare systems to allow parents to go back to work. Moore also plans to not raise taxes, and actually get to a point where lowering taxes will be possible. 

Throughout the country’s history, there have been five African American governors. Douglas Wilder, Deval Patrick, and Moore were elected while David Paterson and PBS Pinchback took over office when the original governor resigned. Over the years, politics have been getting more and more diverse. Maura Healey is the first openly gay woman to be elected governor in the US, James Roesner is the first trans man elected to a state legislature, and Maxwell Frost is the first congress candidate from Generation Z. 

“As we grow as a country and become more diverse as a country, the only real direction we will go is greater diversity,” said Ward. Diversity in leadership roles is important to provide more representation for everyone. Struggles by every type of person can be focused on, improving the country drastically. Overall, only the future will tell what will happen in Maryland.