MARYLAND
      Nov. 8, 2022 Governor

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+Wes Moore/Aruna Miller (D)
 		1,293,944
 		64.53%
Dan Cox/Gordana Schifanelli (R)
 		644,000
 		32.12%
David Lashar/Christiana Logansmith (L)
 		30,101
 		1.50%
David Harding/Cathy White (WCP)
 		17,154
 		0.86%
Nancy Wallace/Patrick Elder (G)
 14,580
 		0.73%
Kyle Sefcik/Katie Lee (U) w/in
 		596
 		0.03%
more write-ins
 		4,848
 		0.24%

2,005,223
Voter Registration: 4,124,156.  Total Voters: 2,031,635.
Plurality: 649,944 votes (32.41 percentage points).
 MD State Board of Elections


DEMOCRATIC PICKUP
Notes: Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was term-limited.  Democrats had high hopes of reclaiming the seat, and they did as author, veteran and former non-profit CEO Wes Moore (D) defeated Trump-endorsed Delegate Dan Cox (R) by a resounding two-to-one margin (>).  Moore ran with former Del. Aruna Miller and Cox with attorney Gordana Schifanelli.  Also on the November ballot were David Lashar (L), an IT executive, running with Christiana Logansmith; Dave Harding (WCP) running with Cathy White; and Nancy Wallace (G), a data coordinator, process engineer and environmental activist running with Pat Elder.  Additionally, Kyle Sefcik (Unaff.), a gym owner and activist, ran as a write-in.

Democrats enjoy a more than 2 to 1 registration advantage in Maryland—as of Oct. 2022, statistics showed Dem. 54.1%, Rep. 24.2% and Unaff. 20.3% of the 4.2 million registered voters (>).  In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by a record margin of 1,008,609 votes (33.21 percentage points). 

Democrats kicked off their general election campaign with a unity rally at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring on Aug. 1, and President Joe Biden and Democrats held a DNC rally at Richard Montgomery High School in Silver Spring on Aug. 25 (>).  Former President Donald Trump hosted a fundraiser for Cox at Mar-a-Lago on Oct. 17.  Moore had a huge financial advantage over Cox.
 
Moore and Cox debated at the Maryland Public Television studio in Owings Mills on Oct. 12 (>); a high 10-percent threshold excluded the third party candidates.  Cox, Harding, Lashar and Wallace—all the candidates except Moore—participated in a forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Maryland and other groups on Oct. 13 (>).

 July 19 Primaries [primary literature]
 A crowded field of candidates competed for the Democratic nomination, while the Republican field was smaller.  On Mar. 15, 2022, the Maryland Court of Appeals moved the primary date from June 28 to July 19 due to litigation over new boundaries following redistricting.

The field of Democrats included well-known current and former officials and some fresh faces.  Seeking the nomination were former Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker (exited June 10), former nonprofit executive Jon Baron, State Controller Peter Franchot, former State Attorney General Doug Gansler, former Obama administration aide Ashwani Jain, former U.S. Secretary of Education John King, Wes Moore, former Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman (exited Apr. 14), former DNC chair and U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, and entrepreneur Mike Rosenbaum (exited Nov. 30, 2021), as well as Ralph Jaffe and Jerome Segal. 

Democrats participated in various forums and one televised debate.  The Maryland Democratic Party hosted several "Burgers and Brews Gubernatorial Candidates Forums" (1, 2).  Six candidates participated in an economic empowerment gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by Coppin State University on Apr. 26 (>).  All eight major candidates participated in the debate produced by WBAL-TV11 and Maryland Public Television on June 6 (>) [Baker exited the race two days later]. 

With 671,160 votes tallied, Moore won 32.41% of the vote followed by Perez (30.12%), Franchot (21.10%), Baker (3.96%), Gansler (3.80%), KIng (3.71%), Jain (2.05%), Baron (1.77%), Segal (0.64%) and Jaffe (0.44%).  Prince George's Co. came in big for Moore, while Perez's stronghold was Montgomery Co.
 
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford announced on Apr. 14, 2021 that he would not run.  Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz announced her candidacy the same day (>),  She previously served as Maryland’s Secretary of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.  Hogan endorsed Schulz on Mar. 22, 2022 (>).  Del. Dan Cox, a strong supporter of former President Trump, filed to form a committee in late June 2021 and formally announced in a July 4 Tweet and Facebook post.  Trump endorsed him on Nov. 22, 2021, stating, "Dan is MAGA all the way—unlike his opponent, Kelly Schultz, who was handpicked by her 'boss,' RINO Larry Hogan, who has been terrible for our Country and is against the America First Movement."  Also running were disbarred attorney and former Del. Robin Ficker, and attorney Joe Werner. 

There were no Republican debates, although Republican and Democratic candidates did participate in a virtual gubernatorial forum hosted by Bethesda Magazine and Bethesda Beat on June 8 (>).

As in a number of other states, the Democratic Governors Association engaged in some meddling, seeking to promote the perceived weaker general election candidate (+).  Ads run starting in early July 2022 painted Cox as "Trump's handpicked candidate" and "too close to Trump, too conservative for Maryland."

With 295,068 votes tallied, Cox carried 20 of 24 jurisdictions, defeating Schulz by about 8.5 percentage points, 52.00% to 43.48% and 2.80% for Ficker and 1.72% for Werner.


Campaign Managers:
Wes Moore:  Ned Miller
(June 2021)  Most recently campaign manager on U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer's 2020 re-election campaign in IA-1, where she narrowly lost to Ashley Hinson.  Also worked on Enyart for Congress in IL-12 in 2014.

Dan Cox:  Zach Werrell
(announced Aug. 5, 2022)  Campaign strategist, June 2013-Nov. 2018.  Campaign manager on Denver Riggleman for Governor (VA), Dec. 2016-Mar. 2017.  Campaign manager on Tom Garrett for Congress in VA-5, Feb.-Nov. 2016.  Campaign manager on Dave Brat's upset primary win over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in VA-7, Dec. 2013-June 2014.  Campaign manager on Mark Berg for Delegate (Winchester, VA), June-Nov. 2013.  J.D. from The University of Texas Law School, 2022.  B.A. from Haverford College, 2013.


See also:
Sam Janesch.  "Maryland Gov. elect Wes Moore spent 5 times as much as Dan Cox down the stretch and still had $2.7M left after his commanding win."  The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 22, 2022.

Emmett Gartner and Timothy Elijah, Capital News Service.  "Dan Cox, Wes Moore ramp up Maryland governor campaigns as early voting nears."  delmarva now, Sept. 20, 2022.

Ovetta Wiggins.  "Wes Moore outraises Dan Cox by 10 to 1 in Maryland governor's race."  The Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2022.

Zach Montellaro.  "Dems meddle in Trump-Hogan proxy war in Maryland."  Politico, July 2, 2022.

Bruce DePuyt.  "Hoping for Republican Debates?  Don't Hold Your Breath."  Maryland Matters, June 21, 2022.

Bruce DePuyt.  "Rushern Baker Suspends Gubernatorial Campaign, Will Likely Endorse Democratic Rival Soon."  Maryland Matters, June 10, 2022.

Bruce DePuyt.  "Lack of Polling Has Voters, Media, Gubernatorial Debate Planners Flying Blind. Here's Why It Matters."  Maryland Matters, May 23, 2022.



 


 




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