Several Republican elected officials in Maryland crossed party lines and endorsed Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) in his reelection campaign.
The state Republican leaders backing Moore largely credited his bipartisanship efforts and his leadership through state tragedies, like the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Republican mayors across the state joined the governor on Wednesday at the annual J-Millard Tawes Crab and Clambake Festival in Crisfield, Maryland, to voice their support.
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“I’m excited to support Gov. Moore as he seeks to continue his mission to build a Maryland that leaves no one behind,” said Jack Coburn, the Republican mayor of Lonaconing. “I’ve been the mayor here for 27 years, until 2023, we often wondered if the folks in Annapolis remembered us. But, when our water treatment system failed in January of 2023, he was here on his first days in office to ensure that the people of our community had access to clean drinking water. While politicians in Washington and around the nation are more divided than ever, Gov. Moore is showing Marylanders there is a better way forward.”
“When disaster struck our community, Gov. Moore was there for us,” Judy Hamilton, the Republican mayor of Westernport, said. “We might not see eye to eye on everything, but I’m proud to support the person who has been fighting for my town through this difficult time. It’s clear to me that he cares about all of our communities, not just the big cities, but the small towns too.”
Moore commended the Republican mayors’ willingness to support his candidacy.
“We actually have a series of Republican lawmakers who represented over 200,000 Marylanders and who are coming out and saying that despite the fact that I happen to be a Democrat, and they happen to be a Republican, that they are coming out to support our reelection,” Moore said. “And it is because we have kept to our word to leave no one behind.”
“These are Republicans who are coming out and saying that we want to continue working together, and on behalf of the people in our state in their individual jurisdictions, to make sure that this is Maryland’s decade for all over Maryland, and not just parts of Maryland,” Moore said.
In addition to Coburn and Hamilton, Maryland Republicans who have endorsed Moore include Washington County Commission President John Barr, Rising Sun Mayor Travis Marion, and two Allegany County officials.
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Moore announced his reelection bid earlier this month. At the event, he dismissed any Republican challenger he might face for their unwillingness to challenge President Donald Trump.
“We’ve heard nothing from them,” Moore told reporters. “So, to be honest, it kind of doesn’t matter to me who gets in the race, whether it’s Andy Harris or [John] Myrick or [Steve] Hershey or [Larry] Hogan … because they’re all saying the same things when it comes to lifting up the people of Maryland and defending the people of Maryland, which is absolutely nothing.”