A national group that routinely spends millions of dollars to help elect Democratic governors is giving Gov. Wes Moore a boost with his messaging as he tries to sell a state budget that’s become one of the most significant political challenges of his term.
America Works USA — an organization affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association — is spending six figures on new television and radio ads at an important moment for Maryland Democrats.
Airing just after Moore finalized the budget last week, the ads ask voters to tell the governor his policies are “on the right track” at a time when Republicans and other critics say the plan wrongly targets taxpayers.
They also effectively serve as the first paid advertisements of Moore’s reelection campaign next year — a race that could include a high-profile matchup if former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan decides to seek another term.
“It gives you an insight into what the message would be,” said Matt Foster, a professor of political science at American University.
Foster said the ads — one of which features Moore and a narrator giving his economic pitch, and another that features a Baltimore brewery owner — serve multiple purposes. They defend Moore’s governing record while also contrasting him with the “chaos” in President Donald Trump’s Washington, both of which are hallmarks of the governor’s messaging this year.
Funded by a national organization that is always looking to help rising members of its party, they also help lift Moore at a moment when he is entering more discussions about being a potential 2028 presidential candidate, Foster said.
“These organizations are all about cultivating talent,” Foster said. “I’m sure this is just the beginning, and not because of any concerns [about Moore’s political status in Maryland], but about ‘Let’s build a brand for some of these candidates.’”
The ads begin
The 30-second television ad and one-minute radio spot launched by America Works USA this week are the first major advertisements either run by a 2026 Maryland candidate or by an outside group supporting them or their policies.
As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, America Works USA is a separate entity whose Internal Revenue Service status is sometimes referred to as a “dark money” group because it is not required to disclose its donors.
The group is closely aligned with the Democratic Governors Association, which noted on its website after last year’s election that America Works USA spent $15 million to support North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein in his competitive campaign in 2024.
While the group said it’s spending north of $100,000 on the ads supporting Moore, it did not specify how far into six figures it was spending.
“How’s the governor doing? I’d say Gov. Moore is doing a good job,” Mel Yukna, of Waverly Brewing Company in Baltimore, says in the video before going on to mirror Moore’s talking points about the budget and a “chaotic” federal government.
Moore, who had nearly $5 million in his campaign accounts at the beginning of this year, has faced a string of challenges so far during his third year in Annapolis. A $3.3 billion state budget hole that Moore and Democratic lawmakers plugged with a combination of spending cuts and taxes was among the largest.
The compromise plan centered around tax increases on the wealthiest earners, a modest tax cut or no change for 94% of filers and a new sales tax on technology services. Political observers say that combination was likely the “politically safe” solution, though Republicans and other critics have continued to target Moore and other Democrats over the plan.
“Governor Wes Moore IS CATASTROPHIC FOR MARYLAND,” an anonymous political organization called “No Moore” wrote in a recent Facebook post as it compared Moore to former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, as it has done consistently since it launched in February.
Hogan, who served two terms but could run again next year after taking a four-year break, has not said if he will try to challenge Moore.
Still, he’s remained a prominent figure both in Republican and Democratic messaging — including on Sunday when the Maryland Democratic Party wished him a happy 69th birthday by calling him the “OLD governor” and “corrupt” in social media and email messages. The “No Moore” group attacked back, calling out the Democrats for originally miscalculating Hogan’s age and adding, “If they can’t count to 70, they shouldn’t be allowed to balance a budget.”
Hogan posted a photo with his grandchildren on his own Facebook page and wrote, “Grandkids helping ‘the old Governor’ become even older.”
2026 campaign
Without Hogan officially in or out of the race, Moore’s publicly announced challengers in 2026 so far include Democrat Ed Hale Sr., a former banking executive who owns the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team; Republican John Myrick, a former federal intelligence officer; and Green Party candidate Andy Ellis, a Nielsen business intelligence lead.
Observers say Hogan would be the most formidable candidate to enter. But even as a popular two-term governor, he would face significant challenges — particularly in a midterm election cycle when voters would be expected to go against the president’s party, and after Hogan’s own double-digit loss to Democrat Angela Alsobrooks in the U.S. Senate race last year.
“That puts Hogan in a very precarious position,” Foster said. “Compared to other Republicans, he will do better, but that’s just not enough.”
It’s unclear how the final budget arrangement will sit with voters statewide. The plan came together and passed in early April and will go into effect July 1.
In statewide polls before it passed, a plurality of voters said they were in favor of taxes on the wealthy and an overall budget plan balanced with a combination of spending cuts and taxes. Moore’s own approval ratings were also still mostly positive, though down from their peak.
Kevin Donohoe, a spokesman for both America Works USA and the Democratic Governors Association, said in a statement about the ad-buy that Moore’s “policies are working: jobs and investments are up and unemployment is among the lowest in the country.”
“While politicians in DC bicker and create chaos, Governor Moore’s policy decisions are jumpstarting Maryland’s economy,” Donohoe said.
Hogan, whose spokesmen did not answer questions Tuesday about when he will decide to run or not, posted on Facebook last week about leaving office with a surplus that he believes Moore squandered.
“In January 2023, the new governor said he was fortunate to have inherited a $5 billion surplus. Now he says he inherited a deficit,” Hogan wrote. “Maybe that was ‘The Other Wes Moore.’”
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