Do we like them?Do we like Wes Moore?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A solid record on LGBTQ+ rights and public policy, held back by an unresolved argument over how he has told his own military story.
Wes Moore is a former Army officer who served in Afghanistan and has been governor of Maryland since January 2023. He has been talked about as a 2028 presidential prospect, although at his reelection filing he said flatly “I'm not running for president.” That is the national profile behind most of the questions you will see about him.
The messy bit is his military story. The Associated Press reported in 2024 that a 2006 White House Fellowship application listed a Bronze Star he had not received, and Moore called it “an honest mistake”. He was later pinned with the medal in December 2024 by the commander who had recommended him. Plenty of people will take that as closed, though others still ask why it was not corrected sooner.
It has not gone away. A joint Spotlight on Maryland investigation, reported in 2026, said the records it reviewed showed gaps against some of how his Afghanistan service has been described. Moore has said he has nothing to hide and called the scrutiny political. His office has been criticised for not releasing his full file. Conservative outlets are pushing this hard, so weigh the framing, but the question about records is a fair one.
On the harm test he comes up clean. He signed the Trans Health Equity Act in 2023, which requires Maryland's Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatment. He had pledged to protect LGBTQ+ rights during his 2022 campaign, and his office proclaimed Pride Month. Some trans advocates have said he should back his words with more action, which is a fair nudge rather than a mark against him.
His fights with Donald Trump are loud, but they are political, not harmful. Trump threatened to send troops to Baltimore in 2025 and Moore hit back, and in 2026 Moore said of Trump “I pray for him”. He also vetoed five bills in 2026, citing costs and legal worries, including one on local news advertising, and he said he is open to coming back to the idea. Redistricting was his other big stoush: he pushed a new congressional map and the state Senate would not pass it.
The good stuff is real. In 2024 he issued pardons covering about 175,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions, which his office described as the largest such action by any state. He has also put money behind a service-year programme for school leavers. Whether you love his centrist streak or not, that is real use of the job.