In the two years since he entered the national lexicon as a rising Democratic star, Wes Moore has consistently deflected the idea that he would run for president — perhaps as soon as 2028, or even in 2024 if Joe Biden wasn’t the nominee. Now, with other high-profile Democrats pushing Biden to step aside — and, some say, nominate Moore instead — the governor still isn’t budging.

Moore has remained steadfastly loyal to the president in the two weeks since Biden’s debate performance against Republican Donald Trump set off a flood of concerns that the 81-year-old commander-in-chief isn’t up to the job.

The governor stumped for Biden in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin right after the debate. He defended the president — and rejected the idea that he would seek the nomination — on one of the most-watched Sunday political shows right after that. Biden remains at the top of the ticket. And Moore, as he said in an interview this week, doesn’t “do disloyalty.”Turn to Moore, Page 7

“His focus has always been on the mission. And I think that probably goes back to his time serving in the military,” said Doug Thornell, an outside Moore adviser.

He heads SKDK — a powerhouse communications firm that specializes in political consulting for Democratic politicians — and was Moore’s media strategist during the 2022 campaign. “He’s traveled around, he’s done fundraisers, he’s done media stuff. He’s been, I think, a powerful advocate and surrogate for the Biden campaign.”

In an interview on Monday with The Baltimore Sun, Moore dismissed pundits’ suggestions that he could end up as a running mate on a reconfigured Democratic ticket.

“I’m flattered that people have taken notice to the fact that Maryland is getting big things done again,” Moore said. Asked if he intended to remain as governor, he replied: “It’s not just my intention, it’s what I plan on doing.”

Moore, 45, is a year-and-a-half into his first term in any political office. Even before becoming governor, he was touted by pundits as a future White House hopeful — a conversation that has grown louder as Democrats express doubts about the reelection prospects of Biden.

Moore hasn’t wavered in his support, even as a growing number of congressional Democrats have questioned whether Biden should continue his bid in the face of concerns about his health and declining poll numbers.

“So these are legitimate concerns,” Moore told The Sun. “Of the people that are flagging them, many — but not all — are coming from the right place.”

Moore said the overriding concern was the “threat” posed by Trump.

He also said that “there is one opinion that matters in all this, and that’s President Biden’s. There’s nothing legally that anyone else can do to be able to release the delegates or release the money. These are delegates that Joe Biden campaigned for, and the idea that someone can come in and just take them is not real.”

Moore, in an interview with commentator and Sun co-owner Armstrong Williams, doubled down Monday on his support for the president.

“When we were knocked down as a state … he stood with us, and I’m never going to forget that, and I don’t do disloyalty,” said Moore during an interview with Williams on WJLA-TV in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Montgomery County Democrat, made a similar comment on CNN, saying: “If there were to be any change, it would have to come from him.”

Few within the party, least of all Moore and his advisers, predict he will end up on this year’s ticket. But national Democrats and commentators appear increasingly intrigued by his prospects, and some continue plugging Moore into prospective Democrat lineups for the November election.

Former Republican operative Steve Schmidt, a vocal opponent of Trump, posted on X after last month’s debate that a ticket of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Moore could defeat Trump. Pamela Paul, a New York Times opinion columnist, went further, writing on July 4 that a Moore presidential candidacy this year could “energize the electorate.” (Moore’s picture, alongside Biden and four other alternative options, was blown up across two pages of The Times’ Sunday edition.)

In an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” after the Biden-Trump debate, Moore said he would not seek the nomination if the president withdrew, adding, “and Joe Biden is not going to take himself out of this race, nor should he.”

“There’s always a lot of noise. I think we all just kind of smile and probably put it someplace in our head but focus on what’s ahead of us,” said Thornell.

What’s ahead for now is Moore’s gubernatorial agenda — including working with Biden and Congress to secure needed financial commitments to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore — and his push to reelect Biden.

Moore, the state’s first and the country’s only current Black governor, has remained a coveted campaign surrogate. He has campaigned for the president in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin, among other states.

On Monday, Biden wrote to Democratic lawmakers that he understood “good faith fears” about the election, but that “I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”

Moore became a rising star in Democratic politics during a 2022 campaign in which he pledged to tackle generational problems such as child poverty and racial wealth gaps.

An engaging speaker, former bestselling author and nonprofit leader, Moore spent his career circling politics before jumping into the race to succeed Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan.

In burnishing his national image, Moore has the advantage of governing a blue state and working with a General Assembly dominated by Democrats.

“He hasn’t had to get his hands terribly dirty,” said Roger E. Hartley, dean of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs. “He’s not in a purple state where half the people hate you and half love you. He’s in state where 70% of the people love him.”