It’s been a few weeks since Maryland Gov. Wes Moore took the stage during the Democratic National Convention to deliver a speech and show his support to get Vice President Kamala Harris elected.
Now major Harris surrogates such as Moore are on the push for the next nine weeks to get her to the White House.
But before then, Harris and former President Donald Trump are expected to debate on Tuesday.
Moore joined WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer Wednesday to talk about the race and other political matters impacting Maryland.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Shawn Anderson: What do you think vice president Harris has to do and say next week to grab those voters in the swing states and the independents who maybe haven’t made up their minds yet?
Wes Moore: I think the vice president just needs to continue to share her vision for this country. And it’s a vision that we can have economic growth that supports everybody, and not just some of us. It’s a vision that we can actually support basic freedoms that we all hope for, things like reproductive freedoms and educational freedoms, and also a freedom to walk around your neighborhood in safety. And it’s also a vision where we can be respected on the global stage.
And I think that when she continues to align her vision with where the hopes and the aspirations of the American people are, and not necessarily have to go back and forth or tit for tat with someone who, frankly, has no plans to be able to unite the country and no plans to be able to push forward the kind of growth that the country is hoping for, I think that the American people will get a very clear understanding why Kamala Harris needs to be the next president of the United States.
Anne Kramer: If we turn our attention governor to the race to replace the seat that is being left vacant by the retirement of Senator Ben Cardin. We’re talking about the race between Angela Alsobrooks and Larry Hogan. You kind of mentioned about abortion rights and restoring women’s reproductive rights. Voters this fall in Maryland are going to decide whether to enshrine it in the state constitution. So how focused should Angela Alsobrooks and other Maryland Democrats be giving to other pressing issues, and not the abortion front?
Wes Moore: Well, I do think the abortion front does matter, because in this race we have somebody in Angela Alsobrooks who has consistently fought for abortion rights and reproductive health. And she’s running against somebody, the old governor, Larry Hogan, who consistently, when he was in power, actually worked against it. He vetoed legislation to support providers. He vetoed legislation to support privacy. You know, when I became the governor, on my first day of office, I had to release $3.5 million of previously unreleased funds because the old governor would not release them. And so I think, you know, Larry Hogan, I know he was recruited by Mitch McConnell to join the race, but importantly, his philosophy on this issue is very consistent with where the national Republicans have been.
So there are going to be many issues that Angela Alsobrooks, I think, is going to not just lead on, but also show she has a better track record to be able to address things like crime in our society. But at the same time, I do think it’s important that as people go to the ballot and vote yes on Question One to make sure that regardless of what the Supreme Court says, that the state of Maryland is going to be a safe haven for abortion rights. It does not make intellectual sense to vote yes on Question One and then to vote for Larry Hogan as your Senator, a person who has never had a history of supporting abortion rights. You should vote yes on Question One and then also vote for Angela Alsobrooks.
Shawn Anderson: Let’s talk about your job in Annapolis. In a Gonzalez poll released this week, you got a 64% approval rating. That’s up from 58% back in February. The pollster Patrick Gonzalez believes the big part of your boost is because of how you’ve handled the situation with the Baltimore Key Bridge. What do you think is resonating with Maryland voters about your work as governor.
Wes Moore: First, I’m very humbled that the people of our state are really responding. And you see, it’s not just Democrats, it’s Democrats, it’s independents, it’s a significant chunk of Republicans. Because I think people in the state are seeing that, that we’re working together and we’re getting big things done. I mean, I think about this, the job numbers that we had for the month of July, where, you know, just the month of July, Maryland gained over 6,100 new jobs. Our unemployment rate right now in the state of Maryland is 2.8% and that is amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country. And when I first took office, Maryland was 43rd in the country in unemployment.
That we’re now seeing public safety numbers. You know when, when I took office, we went eight straight years of watching how the homicide rate in Baltimore alone was 300-plus homicides for eight straight years under the old governor, and the homicide rate in the state of Maryland had nearly doubled over an eight year period. Well, since our administration has come on board, Maryland has had among the fastest drops in homicide rates in America. The last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore City, I wasn’t born yet. So I think people are seeing that we’re making big progress in our state and we’re getting big things done, but what we’re doing is we’re getting big things done together.
And so I’m thankful that our approval ratings are where our approval ratings are, you know, and I’m thankful that we’re seeing a wide variety of Marylanders who approve of the job we’re doing. But I also know that the reason is because we’re actually choosing to work together as a state, and it matters because our state is leading.
Anne Kramer: Governor, last week, the New York Times published a story that said information you put on an application for a White House fellowship in 2006 included you being awarded a Bronze Star, which in fact, wasn’t true. Last week, governor, you called it an honest mistake, because your senior level commanders had said you got the award, when in fact, you were recommended for it. Wondering this afternoon, how concerned you are that honest mistake could hurt your credibility when you’re trying to get people to support Kamala Harris for the White House.
Wes Moore: I’ve said that it was an honest mistake that I take accountability for that, you know, I included something on an application because my senior commanding officer, you know, instructed me to include it, because it wasn’t just that he recommended it, it’s that he actually had vocal confirmation from also his higher ups that I was going to be awarded it. And you know, it was a paperwork error that I didn’t receive it. But the thing I also know is this, is that not only do I think and I know with the veterans community, that they understand it’s an honest mistake. I think people also understand my service, and I’m very proud of my service. I’m very proud of the fact that I joined the army when I was 17 years old.
I volunteered to join Task Force Devil in one of the most dangerous parts of the world, and led with the 82nd Airborne Division, with 5,000 soldiers and paratroopers and special operators and marines that, you know, I led soldiers in combat. And I’m proud of the work that we did where, you know, a platform that I took over for had a handful of Taliban who had come over to our side. By the time that I left, the unit that I led had over 670 Taliban, hardcore Taliban members that were now back over on our side. And so I’m proud of my service. I’m proud of the service that I did, leading soldiers in combat, in defending this country. I will never back away from that, and I think people acknowledge that and respect that, and particularly the veterans community.
Shawn Anderson: The state faces a huge deficit when it comes to transportation projects. We got a clearer picture of this yesterday about a plan to cut more than a billion dollars, but the big question is, will this deficit be balanced directly on the backs of taxpayers, things like higher tolls or increases in sales tax? How do you see this shaking out?
Wes Moore: No, we’ve got to make sure that we get our economy growing. You know, Maryland’s economy over the seven years before I took office had grown by 3% during that same time, the average state in this country had grown by 11%, so our economy essentially has flatlined. So we’ve got to make sure that we’re getting our economy growing and getting our economy moving. And at the same time, though, we have to make sure we’re investing in infrastructure projects, particularly things that are focusing on safety, particularly on projects that are getting people from where they live to where they work or where they live to where they worship or where they live to where they go to school.
And so I think if there’s something that people have learned about our administration, we’ve gone now two straight years where we have have a bipartisan balanced budget, where we believe in fiscal discipline, but we also believe in making investments to actually preserve the future of Marylanders. And we’re going to take the exact same philosophy when it comes to making sure that we’re investing in transportation and at the same time, though, making sure that we’re being fiscally disciplined and fiscally responsible about the way that we’re running state government.
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