Maryland Governor 2026: the ads, and who's paying for them

Our All-Of-the-Above Approach Is Paying Off

There is nothing that I take more seriously than public safety. There's nothing that I take more seriously than making sure that people can feel safe in their neighborhoods, in their communities, and in their own skin. I take accountability very seriously, and the people of Maryland know that. We've made the largest investments in local law enforcement in our state's history, and we are having among the fastest drops in violent crime in America. But I know that there is still more work to do, and I know that because I know people like Crystal Gonzalez, whose daughter was killed in a July 4th party. And I promised Crystal that I would not rest until no parent has to feel the pain that she is feeling. And so there is nothing that we will not do to make sure that accountability comes to violent offenders, but also making sure that we can actually focus on rehabilitation, because I was one of those kids. I had a kid I had handcuffs on my wrist by the time I was 11 years old. And for kids like me, making sure that we can create pathways for them to imagine themselves in spaces bigger than where they're in right now has got to be important. It's got to be about both accountability and opportunities for young people. Okay, so

Glittering Generalities: The phrase invokes 'public safety' as a vague, emotionally positive value without any substantive policy detail — for example: nothing that I take more seriously than public safety, making sure that people can feel safe in their neighborhoods, in their communities, and in their own skin and I take accountability very seriously.

Repetition: The phrase 'nothing that I take more seriously' is repeated from sentence 1 to sentence 2 as a deliberate rhetorical device to reinforce the speaker's image — for example: "There is nothing that I take more seriously than public safety", "There's nothing that I take more seriously than making sure".

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My Definition of Patriotism

My definition of patriotism was when I put on the uniform of this country and I served overseas. Mr. Cox's definition of patriotism was putting on a red cap. Oh, please. And then being able to bust people down to the capital on January 6th. It is not "Oh please." 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.

Loaded Language: The word 'patriotism' is used as an emotionally charged term implying a duty or loyalty standard, while 'destroy us' is an extreme, emotionally loaded phrase — for example: 'destroy us'

Black-and-White Fallacy: The sentence implies that the only two options were to express patriotism or to destroy 'us', leaving no room for any other interpretation of the action — for example: 'you used it to try to destroy us'

Appeal to Prejudice: Invoking 'patriotism' as a standard of in-group loyalty and framing the subject's actions as a betrayal of that in-group identity — for example: 'express your patriotism'

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The Stakes Are High, and We’ve Got More Work to Do

I I I know these are uncertain times and I know that sometimes the politics of of lies and division can make us feel like nobody is listening. And I know that because I'm in our communities every single day and the message is very clear. We need leaders who are fighting for you and not just focusing on fighting each other. That despite the chaos and the corruption that we have seen in Washington DC, I have never been more confident in Maryland's future. But my confidence in Maryland's future is not a blind faith. I was raised right by my family. I was trained right by the United States Army. And I worship a mighty God. In our second term, we're going to make sure we're growing and diversify our economy off of Washington DC. We're going to make life more affordable for Marylanders. We're going to make our public schools the best in America. And we'll continue to have the greatest public safety turnaround story in the country. I'm honored to be your governor. And I know the job isn't done.

Loaded Language: The words 'chaos' and 'corruption' are emotionally charged terms used to characterize Washington DC negatively — for example: 'the chaos and the corruption that we have seen in Washington DC'

Glittering Generalities: Vague positive promise about affordability with no specific policy detail, functioning as rhetorical flourish — for example: make life more affordable for Marylanders and make our public schools the best in America.

Exaggeration/Hyperbole: Claiming schools will be the absolute best in the entire country is an extreme superlative claim unsupported by evidence — for example: the best in America and greatest public safety turnaround story in the country.

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Trump Cut SNAP, I Brought it Back

That alone could save Medicaid, and I'm going to do it. Secondly, as to SNAP, same exact issues. There were 1,858 people incarcerated receiving SNAP. And and one person apparently won a $2 million lottery. This is outrageous. We need We need common sense again to make sure our budget is cared for. We didn't have these issues under Governor Hogan and and our budget director David Brinkley. We're having them now because of the kind of mismanagement that you're seeing. Governor Moore. Uh Governor Hogan called you a QAnon wack job. And said he would never support you because because he didn't think that you were fit to lead. And so let's let's let's get some accurate numbers here. The SNAP error rate was actually second highest in the country when I came on as governor. And now, during our time, Maryland has had amongst the fastest drops in SNAP error rate in the United States of America. But, you know, making sure you're fixing the SNAP error rate is one thing. Making sure you're also dealing with a federal administration who seems to be perfectly comfortable with trying to kick hundreds of thousands of people off of health care. And seems perfectly comfortable with kicking trying to kick over 680,000 kids off of food assistance. The support of the big beautiful bill, the support of this Trump agenda, an agenda that you have said that you support 100%. This is brutal, and it is brutality. And we have to make sure we are protecting the health and the welfare and the safety of our people. And and cutting SNAP, Medicaid, and cutting and cutting health care is not the way we're going to do it.

Name Calling: The phrase 'QAnon wack job' is a derogatory label used to discredit a person — for example: QAnon wack job

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What I'm About | Wes Moore

When I look at national politics today, it's so angry and divisive. But I got to tell you, that's not what I'm about. So, I don't come from a political background. I wasn't born into a wealthy or a powerful family. When I ran for governor, I saw a system that wasn't working for many families. So, we got right to work. For years, crime was out of control. Now in Maryland, violent crime is at a 40-year low. With utility companies making record profits while our bills keep going up, we're fighting back and delivering relief for every household. And we said that our kids deserve the best education in the country. So, we made historic investments in our public schools, we've cut the teacher vacancy rate in half, and improved test scores in math and reading. But our work isn't done. So, maybe in Washington, it's about tearing people down. But here in Maryland, we lift our people up, and we leave no one behind.

Exaggeration/Hyperbole: The claim that crime was 'out of control' is an overstatement that lacks specificity and exaggerates the severity of past conditions — for example: 'out of control'

Loaded Language: The phrase 'fighting back' uses emotionally charged language to frame the speaker as a defender against corporate exploitation, triggering a reaction rather than conveying neutral facts — for example: 'fighting back'

Glittering Generalities: The phrase 'best education in the country' is a vague, emotionally positive superlative that sounds noble but lacks specific meaning or measurable definition — for example: best education in the country

Black-and-White Fallacy: Sets up a binary contrast between Washington (bad) and Maryland (good), implying only two possible approaches exist — for example: maybe in Washington, it's about tearing people down

Appeal to Prejudice: Uses 'our people' and 'here in Maryland' to invoke in-group identity and contrast it favorably against an out-group (Washington) — for example: here in Maryland, we lift our people up

Watch on YouTube ↗ Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.

HERE WE ARE | Wes Moore

It's any mother's worst nightmare. My daughter was killed when she was just 18 years old. I knew my baby deserved more, so I started making phone calls. I needed our leadership to know what violence has done to me and my family. And Governor Moore didn't just listen to me, he heard me. He got into office and then he tried something new. He actually worked with everyone. He made record investments in law enforcement and he worked with the community. Now, homicides in Maryland are at a 40-year low. We've got more work to do, but Wes Moore is doing it.

Watch on YouTube ↗ Transcript above is auto-generated; the analysis is of the spoken words.