It’s all over but the shouting — and some more counting.
Thanks to Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that would have enabled election officials to begin opening and counting mail-in ballots early, we still don’t have official winners in some critical primary elections from last week. But we do have enough evidence of how things are going to opine on who some of the winners and losers from the primaries were. So without further ado, here is our exhaustive list:
Winner: Wes Moore
Believe the hype. In all likelihood, he is our next governor, and watch the national publicity roll in. Moore has a lot of smarts and ability, an inspiring life story, a diverse professional history, and a desire to do good. He campaigned as an outsider, yet lined up a powerful array of insider support. But he has zero governing experience, and there will still be some carping about whether his biography has been inflated somehow. It will be interesting to see who will keep him grounded and who he will bring in to help him run state government. Special shout-out, just because we feel like it, to Oprah.
Winner: Donald Trump
If ever there was doubt that the former president thoroughly dominates the Republican Party these days, just regard Del. Dan Cox’s victory in the GOP gubernatorial primary last week on Hogan’s home turf, which makes the win all the more sweet for the revenge-minded ex-president. Never mind that Cox’s triumph almost certainly puts the general election out of reach for Republicans — that’s hardly Trump’s concern.
