Governor Moore and Dan Cox sit down with WMAR as early voting begins

BALTIMORE, MD — As early in-person voting gets underway in Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore and Republican nominee Dan Cox sat down for separate interviews, each addressing the state's ongoing budget challenges, the Key Bridge rebuild and crime.

Budget shortfalls have clouded legislative sessions over the last few years, at one point hitting more than $3 billion. Moore was asked whether there is a plan to get Maryland off the cycle of solving budget issues each year.

"I think there's only two ways of being able to address that and create sustainable growth. You've got to control your spend, and you need to increase your top line, which means you need to have business growth and development, and we've been doing that during our time," Moore said.

Cox offered a sharply different take on the state's finances.

"We're seeing our taxes skyrocket under Wes Moore. 338 new taxes and fees. This is no joke," Cox said.

"This is the moment to bring back sanity, to make sure that our budget again is back to common sense black. Right now we're 3 billion in the hole. We can do better and we intend to do better, and once again we'll have a Maryland that's safe and prosperous," Cox said.

Cox recently said at a press conference that he would complete the Key Bridge rebuild faster than the timeline laid out by Moore. When asked how, Cox questioned whether the project is on track.

"We're 2.5 years out. There's not even a contract to build a bridge. And in fact, Governor Moore is misrepresenting, saying that the cleanup on his website, it says that the demolition is 100% done. Yet the day after he put that up on the website, right before the debate, and I pointed this out in the debate, an email went out requesting bids to finish demolition," Cox said.

Moore pushed back on Cox's characterization of the rebuild effort.

"The Key Bridge rebuild should not be politicized the way that he is doing it, and what he is talking about is literally just MAGA talking points. Not only are we incredibly proud that we are able to have a recovery and opening up a channel that happened in historic speed in historic time. The same thing is now happening for the rebuild, but the thing is we're doing it with both Democratic and Republican support," Moore said.

During Moore's first term, Baltimore has seen historic drops in crime. Maryland has also seen large drops in crime, in line with trends across the country. When asked what he is most proud of, Moore pointed to public safety.

"I'm proud of the fact that we've had amongst the fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America, all across the state of Maryland. We're now at 40-year lows. We're really proud of that," Moore said.

Cox argued more can be done to combat crime, particularly juvenile crime, and vowed to change policies signed into law by Moore, specifically referencing the Youth Charging Reform Act.

"So we can do a lot to come alongside the state's attorneys, turn the state around, and have law and order again. And yes, I will work to rescind that Governor Moore law. Everybody knows it has to be rescinded. In fact, the governor is gaslighting us again just this week, issuing some kind of an order saying that he wants a top-down review of holding youth accountable. Well, guess what? He's the reason. It's his fault that this is happening," Cox said.

Early voting runs through October 29. The general election is November 3.

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