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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is set to travel to the early primary state of South Carolina at the end of this month to headline the state party’s influential Blue Palmetto Dinner, according to plans shared first with POLITICO. He's delivering a commencement speech at the historically black Lincoln University on Sunday in Pennsylvania, a key swing state. And he's going on national shows like "The View" to bolster his profile as he heads into a reelection bid next year.
Still, in an interview, Moore insisted he isn't running for president in 2028.
“I am clear — I’m not running,” Moore told POLITICO on Thursday, something he also said on his national television appearance that day. “But what I am doing is running to make sure that Maryland really is going to have the most explosive decade that it’s had at any time in recent history.”
Moore, a Democratic rising star, has drawn praise from actor and Democratic megadonor George Clooney as many have widely seen him as a presidential contender. However, the governor framed his thinking about present-day challenges and not the 2028 calendar — still three years away.
“I think that anyone who is, you know, focusing their time and their efforts trying to audition for 2028, to me, what it says is, you're not taking 2025 very seriously,” he said, and maintained his focus is on winning a second term in Maryland next year.
Moore’s remarks came as other prospective Democrats are making not-so-subtle moves ahead of the 2028 campaign.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker traveled to New Hampshire this past weekend for a dinner where he railed against “do-nothing Democrats.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, taking a more conciliatory approach to President Donald Trump, appeared alongside him at a rally in Michigan, claiming a victory in his announcement of a new F-15 fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Gina Raimondo told David Axelrod she is considering running for president, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is weighing a gubernatorial campaign in California against a potential presidential bid, rebuked Trump in a return to the national stage in San Francisco.
For his part, Moore’s visit to South Carolina will coincide with the party’s annual fish fry, a high-profile political gathering hosted by the influential Rep. Jim Clyburn, who shaped the 2020 race when he backed then-candidate Joe Biden in the primary.
“Mr. Clyburn was very insistent on me getting back down there,” Moore said, referring to his decision to skip the state party’s “First in the Nation Celebration Dinner” that then-President Joe Biden headlined last year.
Moore's excuse for not attending at the time: “My [Baltimore] Ravens were in the AFC championship, and you know, there's no way in hell is gonna miss that.”
The former nonprofit leader and author has been making the rounds on sports radio and podcasts, in a move widely seen as shoring up support with men. It's a demographic the party struggled with when Harris topped the ticket last year. But whatever his loyalties to his favored football team, he said he also knows his political obligations.
“I told him I would make it up for him,” Moore added. “And you know, you do not say no to Mr. Clyburn.”
South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain, who confirmed Moore will headline the event on May 30, said the dinner has become a showcase for future presidential hopefuls. But she acknowledged: “We've had speakers who haven't run for president.”
She added of Moore, “we're appreciative that he would come.”
She also noted there’s still plenty of time for other potential candidates to ingratiate themselves with the party faithful in the state.
At the Blue Palmetto gala held last May, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were headliners. Both are now being discussed as potential presidential candidates.
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