Who's In the Race

Incumbent Democrat Wes Moore is running for reelection as Maryland's governor, with the general election set for Nov. 3 against Republican nominee Dan Cox. ​

Both nominees won their primaries on June 23: Moore took 88 percent of the Democratic primary vote andCox won the Republican primary with 45 percent of the vote in a 14-candidate field.

Endorsements

Moore has drawn backing from both of Maryland's U.S. senators, Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen. Among statewide officials, Ed Rothstein has also endorsed Moore.

Cox has secured endorsements from the Republican Governors Association and former Maryland Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Polling

All four major rating services call this race solidly in Moore's favor. Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball each rate the race Solid Democratic, updated Oct. 28. Inside Elections and the consensus rating both rate it Solid Democratic as well, updated Oct. 23.

That uniform assessment reflects Maryland's deep lean toward Democrats in statewide races.

Seven polls have been conducted in the race, with the most recent dated Sept. 27, but no polling average is available.

Previous Elections

In the 2024 presidential race, Democrat Kamala Harris carried Maryland with 63 percent of the vote to Republican Donald Trump's 34 percent. That nearly 30-point margin underscores how reliably Democratic Maryland has been at the top of the ticket in recent cycles.

In the 2022 governor's race, Moore defeated Cox by more than 32 percentage points, 65 percent to 32 percent. Cox is the only major-party nominee to have faced Moore before, making this a direct rematch of that contest.

The 2026 Democratic primary drew roughly three times as many voters as the Republican primary, 633,080 to 207,817.

Moore's share of the Democratic primary vote also jumped sharply, from 33 percent in 2022 to 88 percent in 2026. In 2022, Moore faced a competitive primary field; this time, he ran with broad party support from the start.

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