Wes Moore Becomes Maryland's 1st Black Governor

Source: Rob Carr / Getty

Wes Moore made history during the 2022 U.S. general election by becoming the first Black governor of the state of Maryland. The governor-elect was heavily favored in the race and is one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party.

Wes Moore, 44, stood triumphant in a stacked gubernatorial race and handily moved past his far-right Republican Party opponent, Dan Cox.

Despite Cox receiving a strong endorsement from former president Donald Trump, Moore was considered by most analysts a shoo-in as current incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan is nearing the end of his second term and by law must vacate the office. While Hogan is a member of the Republican Party, he was particularly supportive of the fringe members of his party, including Trump and those who rally around the controversial business mogul.

Moore, a newcomer to politics, went against Cox, who serves in the Maryland House of Delegates and has been on record denying the presidential election results of 2020. Cox was a definite longshot in a state that routinely swings blue despite a handful of votes being siphoned by Libertarian Party candidate David Lashar, Working Class Party candidate David Harding, and Green Party candidate Nancy Wallace.

Westley Watende Omari Moore was born on Oct. 15, 1978, in Takoma Park, Md., and lived for a time in the Bronx, N.Y. Moore went on to attend Valley Forge Military Academy and College, earning an associate degree in 1998. Moore then entered Johns Hopkins University ahead of attending Wolfson College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

While Moore has never held political office, he does have some experience in the political realm. He served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006 before going into investment banking for Deutsche Bank in Manhattan. Moore cut his teeth professionally as a television producer, author, and entrepreneur and delivered a speech on behalf of presidential candidate Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Moore was backed by powerful figures such as the aforementioned former President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, whom he worked with as a producer, and Hillary Clinton among others. Coupled with his natural charm on the campaign trail, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. man and his best-selling book, The Other Wes Moore, revealed much about the character behind the man and Maryland showed their support via their vote.

Wes Moore is just the third Black governor to be elected to office, joining Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.

Hip-Hop Wired extends warm congratulations to Governor-Elect Wes Moore and to Lieutenant Governor-Elect Aruna Miller!

Learn more about Moore here.

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Photo: Getty

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