By STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland said he is “very concerned” that President Donald Trump will wield the power of the federal government to thwart the midterm elections this fall as the Republican tries to maintain his grip on power during the final two years of his administration.
In an interview as he becomes chair of the National Governors Association, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender ticked through Trump’s efforts to restrict voting by mail, obtain voter information from states and possibly deploy federal troops or agents to polling places. Moore said there was a role for the NGA, a bipartisan group, to ensure states are able to oversee elections as designed by the U.S. Constitution.
“I don’t think that the president is trying to hide the ball on this,” Moore said. “It’s not even am I concerned about what the president could do? I’m concerned about what he’s already doing in broad daylight.”
Moore’s national profile is expanding and so is speculation about the White House
The 47-year-old governor’s national profile is rising as he assumes the top leadership post for the nation’s governors on Saturday, a role once held by Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas. Moore is the subject of frequent speculation that he will announce a presidential run, a prospect he rules out, saying he will not “get distracted” before the November elections.
His travel to early presidential testing grounds such as South Carolina and Nevada, though, suggests he may run. Moore is proving himself a savvy digital communicator and crafts an image as a newcomer to politics while voters demand change.
The centerpiece of his agenda as NGA chair — a national program to build communities and draw young people into the workforce through service-oriented work — could be a pillar of a future campaign.
“Service will save us as a society because I know service saved me,” he said, recalling his time in the Army.
The “Service United” campaign opens with $10 million in philanthropic support to build on similar work Moore has done in Maryland, including a $5 million expansion of an apprenticeship program in the state announced this week.
“It’s an opportunity to help people with a career path,” said Bechara Choucair, the executive vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, which is building a youth mental health corps with Service United.
Dame Louise Richardson, the president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which is supporting the program, said she hopes to “see the day when you meet somebody, they don’t just ask, ‘Where did you go to college?’ but they ask, ‘Where did you do your service year?’”
The contours of the initiative have drawn support from some Republicans, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the outgoing NGA chair.
“One of the things I like is the apprenticeship model and getting kids out of the classroom and into more workforce learning,” Stitt said. “So I think that’s brilliant.”
Divisions between parties run deep despite nods at bipartisanship
But that optimism masks the challenge facing Moore as he takes the helm of one of the few remaining political groups that bring top Republicans and Democrats together. For all the nods at bipartisanship, the divides between — and within — the parties run deep.
Even as he spoke warmly of Moore’s program, Stitt warned against anything resembling a “big government program.”
Moore, meanwhile, spoke of public frustration with the government’s response to dramatic changes in the workforce, driven by advances in artificial intelligence that could erode entry-level work that has long helped young people start their careers. He said the White House has complicated the dynamic.
“We want to say that if a person goes on to a four-year college or chooses not to go to a four-year college, they still need to have pathways to long-term wages and wealth,” Moore said. “What we have seen from the federal government thus far has just been simply executive orders that have told the states to stay out of it.”
Moore and Trump have sparred frequently and there’s potential for more
Moore has a challenging relationship with Trump, who sought to bar him and Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., from a White House meeting organized by the NGA earlier this year. The president relented after Stitt intervened, though there is little to suggest that the relationship has recovered, raising the potential of another confrontation at the next NGA meeting, traditionally held February in Washington.
When asked about Trump, Moore noted his enjoyment at working with governors from both parties before saying “the president of the United States seems to consistently take an ideological view when it comes to securing the future of this country.”
The White House did not comment on Moore’s characterization.
But Moore also is contending with divides among his fellow Democrats.
At home in Maryland, where he is seeking reelection this fall, he has at times struggled to win over Democrats in the legislature, which reconvenes next week to consider a constitutional amendment on redistricting after an earlier effort he backed fell short.
Moore says party bosses should not rule
The Democratic National Committee is in turmoil. A string of democratic socialists has won primaries from New York City to Denver, prompting debate over whether the party is moving too far to the left and threatening its potential victories in the fall. Upcoming elections in Michigan and Wisconsin will further tug at the divide.
Moore did not take a firm stance with either of his party’s ideological wings. He batted away questions about democratic socialists potentially imperiling Democratic wins, insisting it was up to voters to decide who their nominees would be.
“Party bosses shouldn’t be determining who members of the party are,” he said, without specifying whether he was referring to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York as one of them. “The people should be the ones to have a final say on that.”
At the same time, Moore made clear that he did not support some of the left flank’s positions.
“I know where I am on issues,” he said. “I don’t believe in abolishing the police. I don’t believe in abolishing prisons. I don’t believe in open borders.”
Democrats sound alarm about Trump role in midterms
But perhaps the biggest test for Moore will be navigating the management of this year’s elections without denting the bipartisan tone that typically defines the NGA. He will be in the middle of Republicans who are calling for tougher rules, particularly around voter identification and deadlines for mail ballots, and fellow Democrats who warn of voter suppression.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina, who leads one of the most politically competitive states that includes a marquee Senate race this fall, echoed Moore’s concerns about federal interference.
“I don’t think you can be a clear-thinking person and not be concerned because all the signals are very worrisome,” he said in an interview. “But that said, I have confidence that if the voters come out in droves and vote the way that they want to vote, that the government will represent their wishes.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that “if Democrats really cared about securing our elections, they would pass the SAVE America Act,” referring to a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill that is stalled in the Senate.
Stitt expressed confidence that states would hold elections without federal intervention while noting his support for the voting bill. But he also rejected federal intervention and said: “States should control their own elections.”
Moore said he used to associate states’ rights arguments with segregationists like Bull Connor, the infamous public safety commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama, who turned fire hoses and dogs on peaceful protesters during the Civil Rights era.
Now, Moore said, the Trump era has reshaped his views and reinforced “the importance of having actually strong governors.”