Moore and Cox bring heat to debate, but will it alter the race?

The lone televised debate between the two leading contenders for governor looked very similar to their debate four years ago.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his Republican challenger Dan Cox each presented their vision of a state under their leadership. But the hour-long debate in Owings Mills quickly showcased the expected lines of attack and the animosity between the two candidates.

Cox, who lost to Moore four years ago, painted the governor as a tax-and-spend liberal and at times accused his opponent of lying. Moore at every turn tied Cox to President Donald Trump and portrayed his opponent as a MAGA acolyte, quoting a former governor who once called Cox a “Q-Anon whack job.”

And, to the surprise of none, both Cox and Moore left the Maryland Public Television studios saying they felt good about their performance.

“I appreciated the chance to come and speak directly to the people of Maryland, and saying that despite the assaults that we have seen from the president, and frankly, a Trump agenda that Dan Cox has said himself that he backs 100% of the time, that there’s been no state that’s been greater affected, but there’s been no state that’s been more effective when it comes to dealing with it,” Moore told reporters after the debate.

Cox said in an interview after that he spoke on behalf of Marylanders, and urged Moore to agree to additional debates at one of the state’s historically black colleges and universities.

Third-party candidates decry exclusion from only debate of the governor’s race

“I wanted to speak for the people of Maryland, and I felt we got some of that done,” Cox said. “I appreciate this opportunity. I thank the governor for the opportunity to come here.”

In the end, however, it is not clear the policy differences, wrapped in heated exchanges and one-liners, will change the trajectory of the election with four weeks left.

Cox trails Moore by 27-points in a poll released Tuesday morning before the debate.

Two third-party candidates on the ballot were not included in the debate: Green Party nominee Andy Ellis and Working Class Party nominee Cathy White each polled at 3% in the survey. below MPT’s threshold of 10% to qualify for the debate.

Mileah Kromer, director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which did the poll, said before the debate that Cox’s inability to bring in voters from outside his party and a lack of money are hurdles.

“If he does really, really well on the debate, he’ll get the benefit of some post-debate coverage,” Kromer said Monday before the poll release. “Without money to wage a campaign, or frankly having the individual characteristics that appeal to unaffiliated voters and moderate conservative Democrats — the things that are necessary to like to take a really strong debate showing and then turn it into momentum — he just doesn’t seem to have any of those things.”

The debate Tuesday afternoon in Owings Mills is likely the only one between the two major party candidates. Cox on at least two occasions called on Moore to participate at a forum at Morgan State University or Coppin State.

Moore was noncommittal.

“I’m ready for the next question,” Moore said following Cox’s attempt to goad the governor into another event.

Cox opened the debate focused on affordability issues, high electricity prices, business closures and tax increases he said are on the horizon.

Moore, speaking to voters, acknowledged the economic tribulations and blamed them on Trump.

“I do want to level with you: I do know the past year and a half has been hard,” Moore said. “I do know that while we have had many successes together as a state, that we are still fighting against Donald Trump’s illegal tariffs, still fighting against these endless foreign wars, and still fighting against these cuts to health care…. this is the agenda that Dan Cox says he supports 100%.”

But when Moore was asked if he would raise taxes to close projected multibillion-dollar structural budget gaps in coming years, the governor focused on increasing private investment in the state.

“So, you saw the governor not answer the question about will he raise taxes,” Cox said in response. “I can look in the camera, governor, and say I will not raise taxes and fees on my watch, and you have not been willing to do that.”

The animosity between the two candidates appeared 15 minutes into the one-hour debate.

At one point, Cox invoked the name of Gov. Larry Hogan, crediting the Republican leader — whom he once tried to impeach — for his budget management and criticizing Moore for projected budget gaps.

Moore fired back that Hogan “called you a Q-Anon whack job and said he’d never support you because you’re not fit to lead.”

At various points in the debate, the two accused each other of lying about the other’s records.

When Cox called on Moore to release his military records, Moore said Cox defined patriotism “by putting on a red cap” — a reference to the red Make America Great Again baseball caps worn by some Trump supporters. Then he criticized Cox for his involvement in busing protestors to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“Oh please,” Cox interrupted.

“It is not, ‘Oh please,'” Moore said. “It’s that when I had a chance to express my patriotism, I used it to protect us. When you had a chance to express your patriotism, you used it to try to destroy us.”

“That’s a lie and that is an absolute lie,” Cox said. “It’s a falsity, just like every other thing that seems to come out of this governor’s mouth.”

Both candidates were asked to explain their change in positions on data centers.

Cox was a member of the House of Delegates in 2020 when he supported tax breaks for data centers. Now Cox is calling for a statewide moratorium.

“Well, the data centers of seven years ago are not the data centers today,” Cox said adding that the today’s centers are larger, consume more energy and use up too many resources.

“I will make sure the people of Maryland are protected in their water, in their land, and in the future,” Cox said. “And I pledge that to the Maryland people.”

Moore has publicly supported data centers but recently signed an executive order calling for more state scrutiny of data centers. He also said he would push to repeal tax credits for the facilities, part of what he called a “progression on data centers.” The reason for the change was twofold, he said.

“One is because I listen to the people, and … we are watching data centers that are now having a greater pull and a greater draw,” Moore said. “But what’s also happening simultaneously … we have Donald Trump, who has removed all guardrails because he has called this growth of data centers essential to beating China, and has called AI a hoax, and so it is important that we step in.”

Cox called Moore’s executive order little more than a stunt.

“Political theater, ladies and gentlemen,” Cox said. “That’s what you’re seeing here. The executive order, so-called, does not put a moratorium, even though a majority of counties have done so.”

A question to Moore on the ability to deliver big projects quickly focused on replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Several large projects such as the bridge and the Purple Line remain unfinished. Moore’s promise to build the east-west Red Line in Baltimore has yet to break ground, nearly four years after he announced it. And the Key Bridge completion was pushed back from 2028 to 2030, the last year of the coming term.

Moore vowed the Key Bridge “will be opened in record time.” He said a recent decision to change contractors was “an important cost saving measure”

Cox was quick to criticize the governor’s management of the rebuild, saying a state website on the project has incomplete or inaccurate information.

“There’s demolition not finished yet, and yet your your little website says that it’s done,” Cox said. “Well, guess what? People can’t drive on a website. They need a bridge, and I’ll build it.”

Cox mocked what he called a “turtle noise permit” referring to an underwater noise monitoring effort to determine harmful effects on aquatic wildlife in the areas around the bridge project. The Republican claimed the monitoring causes too many delays in construction and that the project should continue “24/7.”

“That’s the way it needs to happen,” Cox said. “I love turtles too, but I love Dundalk more.”

Both candidates at times avoided inconvenient questions from the panel.

Cox sidestepped a question about protections for LGBTQ students in schools. He called the issue “nuanced” and turned his answer to economic issues.

“But at the end of the day, I want everybody to understand: Every person in Maryland has to open their electric bill. That’s what this governor is hurting you with,” Cox said, reeling off a list of what he said are possible looming tax increases. “This is hurting every community.”

Cox was asked if he regretted working with lawyers who attempted to overturn the 2020 election, organizing buses to the Jan. 6 rally that turned violent at the U.S. Capitol, and calling Vice President Mike Pence a traitor on social media.

Cox said he regretted the social media post but called the question “political TMZ” and said it was not what voters wanted to hear.

“I think we need to focus on the issues of the people of Maryland,” Cox said. “And I absolutely have always had the people of Maryland in my heart and mind.”

The governor had similar moments, avoiding questions about whether he had regrets about embellishing his military record, claiming a Bronze Star that he did not receive until years later.

And when asked about serving the full four-year term, Moore, often talked about as a 2028 presidential hopeful, would only say, “I’m committed to the people of Maryland.”

“I just want to be clear, Dan Cox seems to be more concerned about my future than the future of the people of Maryland,” he said.