Maryland Gov. Wes Moore officially launched his reelection campaign this month, promising safer communities, better schools, and economic growth. But beneath the polished slogans and presidential-style branding is a far more troubling reality: Moore has governed as one of the most ideologically progressive governors in America.
On issue after issue — abortion, parental rights, transgender policy, and taxpayer-funded activism — Moore has aligned himself not with ordinary Maryland families, but with the most aggressive demands of the cultural Left. As he asks voters for four more years, Marylanders should take a hard look at the record behind the rhetoric.
Start with abortion. Since the Dobbs decision, Moore has worked to transform Maryland into an abortion destination state. He backed a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution and supported a $25 million abortion expansion program funded through higher insurance assessments on Marylanders.
At a time when families are already struggling with inflation, housing costs, and rising healthcare premiums, Moore’s administration effectively told citizens they should subsidize the abortion industry’s political priorities as well.
Even many Democrats are uncomfortable with this extremism. Polling consistently shows broad public support for at least some limits on abortion, especially late in pregnancy. But Moore has positioned himself firmly with the abortion lobby’s most absolutist wing.
Moore’s record on sex-rejecting transgender ideology is even more alarming when it comes to children.
In 2023, Moore signed legislation requiring Maryland Medicaid to cover so-called “gender-affirming care,” including irreversible sex-rejecting interventions tied to minors. He issued an executive order shielding providers from accountability, even when other states seek to protect children from experimental interventions and damaging hormones.
The consequences are not theoretical.
The consequences are not theoretical. Maryland Family Institute has shown that Maryland facilities medically treated hundreds of minors between 2019 and 2023 for gender-transition interventions. Our paper documented surgeries, cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and more than 1,200 related prescriptions connected to minors. Hospitals billed millions in associated charges.
These are not abstract political debates. These are real children facing permanent medical consequences from decisions many will not fully understand until adulthood.
Parents in local school districts across Maryland are left wondering whether their values and voices matter when state leadership elevates ideology over children’s innocence.
Moore’s position is increasingly out of step with the public. National polling from Harvard-Harris found that large majorities of Americans, including many Democrats, oppose puberty blockers and transgender surgeries for minors. Voters overwhelmingly reject schools socially transitioning children without parental involvement.
That is not extremism. That is common sense.
To be sure, Moore is a gifted political communicator. He speaks fluently about unity, opportunity, and leaving “no one behind.” Many Marylanders understandably want to believe he represents a pragmatic new generation of leadership.
But governing records matter more than polished campaign slogans. And Moore’s record shows a consistent pattern: when forced to choose between ideological activists and concerned families, he sides with the activists.
Moore frames opposition to these policies as intolerance. But protecting children from irreversible sex-rejecting interventions is not hatred. It is a recognition that childhood confusion should not become lifelong medicalization.
Children deserve compassion, counseling, and stability, not activist-driven policies that push vulnerable young people toward permanent consequences.
Maryland voters now face a defining choice. Moore is asking for another four years while dishonestly presenting himself as a unifying, solutions-oriented leader. But beneath the slick branding is an administration that has repeatedly advanced divisive social policies far outside the mainstream.
Families across Maryland want safe communities, strong schools, affordable living, and healthcare focused on healing. They do not want taxpayer-funded abortion expansion, ideological activism in schools, or experimental gender interventions for minors normalized by state government.
Wes Moore promised moderation and unity. His record tells a different story. If Maryland families want a government grounded in common sense rather than ideological activism, they should say “no more!” in 2026.
Josue Sierra is part of the Maryland Family Institute Communications team. He is a long-time resident of Cecil County, Maryland.