“Speak out, you got to speak out against the madness
You got to speak your mind, if you dare.”
- Crosby, Stills, and Nash (“Long Time Gone”)
By any measure, the Democratic primary for governor in 2026 should be a contest and not a coronation. Yet some political observers have rushed to dismiss Ed Hale’s future candidacy with smug certainty. They claim he has “no shot” citing age, novelty, and conventional political wisdom.
Such elitist snobbishness ignores the fact that Maryland is heading toward a convergence of an unaffordable fiscal deficit emergency and an expensive energy crisis. Democratic voters deserve an honest debate about who is best suited to navigate it, not a stage-managed walkover for Governor Wes Moore.
Ed Hale may be new to electoral politics, but he is no stranger to leadership or Maryland. As a business executive who built 1st Mariner Bank from scratch, revitalized Baltimore’s Canton waterfront, and brought the Baltimore Blast into national prominence, Hale has created tens of thousands of jobs, stewarded capital, and invested in communities without government bailouts or tax increases. He has succeeded in the arena where results matter, where failure costs more than just lost votes.
Governor Moore, by contrast, has presided over a self-inflicted failing fiscal environment. His latest move, a hiring freeze and buyout program for State employees announced behind closed doors and away from reporters’ questions, reveals the depth of Maryland’s financial strain. According to reporting by The Baltimore Banner reporter Pamela Wood, Moore’s administration is scrambling to claw back one hundred twenty-one million dollars just to keep the next budget year in balance.
This is the same governor who once boasted about solving the state’s structural deficit. He flooded state agencies with over 5,000 new hires and increased spending, only to later shift blame and quietly trim the ranks once the fiscal pressure he had created became undeniable.
Worse yet, Moore’s green energy agenda has thrown Maryland’s electric grid into crisis. Power plants are being shuttered prematurely while new domestic power generation lags far behind. To avoid rolling blackouts, PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, was forced to keep the Brandon Shores power plant open until at least 2028 under an emergency reliability contract because Moore’s energy policy lacked the basic grounding in engineering and economics. The cost? Over one billion dollars… with every dollar to be borne by budget-strapped ratepayers.
These are not abstract concerns. They are real life consequences of Moore’s appalling, absentee leadership.
Moore’s tax hikes, fees, and surcharges – from digital advertising to real estate recordation to vehicle registration – are draining Maryland families and businesses. And as the structural deficit reemerges next year (and again the year after and the year after that), there are already whispers of a Special Session to address the budget’s shortfalls in the next few months.
Voters should ask: If this governor is as visionary as he claims, why is Maryland in a fiscal and energy panic under his watch?
Those quick to write off Hale’s candidacy also overlook a basic fact. Governor Moore’s supposed invincibility rests on political inertia, not popular mandate. The notion that Prince George’s County and Baltimore City alone will secure Moore’s nomination presumes that voters in those jurisdictions are satisfied with their new high energy bills, surging taxes, and shrinking government services, which were all created during Governor Moore’s watch. That is a patronizing assumption.
Maryland Democrats, whether they are Black, White, Hispanic, urban, suburban, or rural, are paying attention. They all know “BS” when they see it.
As for Hale’s age, the concern is overwrought. No one seemed bothered by Donald Trump’s or Joe Biden’s age until the political winds shifted. What voters are increasingly seeking is not youth, but competence, stability, and candor. Ed Hale offers all three.
Hale is not running to burnish a resume or test presidential waters… he is not looking for a political career. He is running because he is deeply concerned about the state he loves and believes it is being mismanaged by an administration long on slogans and short on solutions.
Finally, the idea that this election cycle is all academic unless Larry Hogan jumps in the race is more of the same Beltway punditry that always overestimates name recognition and underestimates timing and message. The Democratic primary is the only fight that matters. It will determine whether Maryland Democrats continue marching toward tax and spend progressivism without brakes or rediscover a sane path of fiscal moderation and honest, competent governance.
No, the gubernatorial contest will not be a coronation for Wes Moore. Not if voters have a say… and not if Ed Hale has anything to do with it.
Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr. is a life-long Eastern Shoreman, an attorney, and former Chairman of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Board of Appeals. He is co-host of the Gonzales/Mitchell Show podcast that discusses politics, business, and cultural issues.
Richard Marks says
‘This columnist doth protest too much, methinks.’
If Mitchell is not on Hale’s payroll he is being shortchanged. I question his agenda. Perhaps, he is only compensated when pounding on Governor Moore. Frankly, it would be a relief to read him expounding on other matters or maybe just stick to quoting lyrics from 60’s songs.
Here is one for you, Clayton:
“You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, “Who is that man?”
You try so hard but you don’t understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?”
Bob Dylan (“Positively 4th Street”)
Jim Wilkins says
Well Clayton. You are right. The Democratic nomination for governor will not be a coronation. Nor should it be. Besides we already have a self-coronated King in the White House who, along with his minions in congress, is working hard to turn the country into his own fiefdom including but not limited to denying people’s constitutional rights (a very important category), attempting to destroy the systems (NIH, universities )that had created the greatest research and enabled breakthrough discoveries and innovations in drug discovery and cures in the world. Maryland, along with the rest of the country is (I fear) set to suffer the consequences of the Republican “beautiful bill” that guts the social safety net by drastically reducing Medicaid payments, closing rural hospitals and drastically reducing payments for SNAP, a program that supports nutritional programs for poor children. And of course these cuts dramatically affect states like Maryland. But I digress. I believe that I have refuted in these pages every single argument that Mr. Mitchell has made in his current rant about Governor Moore. Mitchell has not hesitated to bloviate,misrepresent and attack Moore at every opportunity. But this is just a Republican tactic that has been working recently. The question is: what happens when people discover that the businessman in chief is an emperor without clothes? If you repeat a lie often enough, people begin to believe it..until they don’t. I don’t think Maryland voters will buy these arguments nor should they.
Capt. Robert Newberry says
Great article, my brother! Hitting another one out of the park. Good job. Evidently, from the comments already being made, some people simply can’t handle the truth. Don’t forget what Governor Moore said that he would leave nobody behind! Well guess what, a lot of people have been left behind. Let me give you a prime example.
Since Governor Moore has taken office, one of the most fantastic businesses in Maryland has been destroyed. This business brought in millions and millions of dollars, through tourism, hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, and many other businesses, specifically on the eastern shore of Maryland, but with some on the western shore too. This business was the historic charter boat fishing industry. A lot of people don’t realize over 85% of the charter boat industry has suffered severe setbacks with many captains having to sell their boats and find other jobs. It’s so bad, that two groups! Suing the state of Maryland for what they have done. They have not only left us behind, they have violated our constitutional rights both federally and state, and when asked to support us, the Moore administration flat out declined to represent us. We had three federal court judges advise us that we should be suing the state of Maryland, along with many other states, and that’s what we are doing.
Governor Moore and this administration have not only left us behind, but he has left the farmers behind, and many other people, specifically on the eastern shore. As a matter of fact, he promised myself in easton on february 18th 2023 that we would never be left behind, that i was his go-to man and he would never make a decision adversely affecting our industry unless we agreed and at least met on it. Since that day, not one word from anybody on his staff or his administration concerning any of these issues. So, do the democrats need a change. Hell yes.!! I am a republican at heart, and damn proud of it. To see what Governor Moore has done and is doing to the state of Maryland makes me ill.
I personally know mr Hale and have for several years. He’s a good honest man, and will definitely give governor moore a run for his money. Everybody is quoting songs from the ’60s so i’m going to throw one in here, but it’s not a song. It’s from a famous movie about a military lawyer and the comment is, ” you can handle the truth”. It seems to me some of the people that are commenting definitely can’t handle it. Thank you once again for an honest and great article. Kudos my brother.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Good point, thank you. I must say thought that I do see that the emperor has no clothes and the sight
is very disturbing indeed, actually vile 😝
Tyler Heinicke says
Hale is a blue dog democrat. He might as well just vote for Trump.