While Annapolis is home for Gov. Wes Moore right now, it may be serving more as a home base as he travels around making headlines about a possible White House run.
Monday, the governor was scheduled to be on Wall Street to accept the Brennan Legacy Award. Before that, he delivered a commencement speech Sunday evening at Lincoln University, an HBCU in Pennsylvania and where his grandfather attended. The speech came after he met with Al Sharpton and made an appearance on ABC’s “The View.”
His trips and national appearances have fueled the conversation that Moore is a 2028 Democratic presidential candidate contender, though he has repeatedly said he’s not running.
“I am not running,” Moore said during his appearance on “The View” when asked multiple times.
Now, he will be headlining a Democratic dinner in South Carolina at the end of May. His travels have raised some questions about effective use of tax dollars.
“This is the time for the governor to really focus on the fiscal problems of the state and to be able to stay at home and understand that a lot of work needs to be done in Maryland, not in South Carolina, especially not in Asia,” said David Williams, president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance. “These costs add up, and if it’s whether it’s $200,000 or $2,000,000 when the state is facing a financial crisis, they have to be cognizant of every cost that is coming out of the state.”
Moore’s team said the governor maintains an “aggressive” travel schedule within the state, noting he’s made more than 130 visits throughout Maryland since Jan. 1. .
“He’s met with local firefighters, spoke to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, visited local elementary schools and farms, spoke in support of law enforcement, and announced major investments in quantum,” a Moore spokesperson said via email.
The trips come as the state just finalized a budget to address the $3.3 billion structural deficit, which included cuts to various state agencies, and more than $1 billion in tax and fee increases.
“Ultimately, these trips really only benefit one person, and that’s the governor because it increases his visibility to the nation and whether or not he’s running for president, he’s still governor and may run for another term of governor and this helps with his visibility,” Williams said. “The problem is the more visibility he has outside of Maryland, the less he has inside of the state and that’s where the work needs to be done. This is a structural deficit that could pop up again next year if the revenues don’t come in.”
“So just because they passed a budget and they think that they’ve solved the fiscal problem, this problem could pop up again in January of 2026, and that’s why the governor needs to be working today on these issues,” Williams added.
The Maryland State Police is gathering data about how much it cost to have Moore’s executive protection staff travel with him, both locally and international trips.
Moore isn’t unique in his travel though. Former Gov. Larry Hogan took several trips, including an Asian mission in May 2015, a 2016 mission to Israel, a June 2017 mission to London and Paris, and another mission trip to Asia in September 2022. Hogan’s trips cost taxpayers more than $830,000.
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