Maryland Gov. Wes Moore may get an intra-party challenge when he runs for reelection in 2026, with retired banker Ed Hale Sr. close to announcing a campaign.
Hale said in a brief interview Thursday that he’s “pretty sure” he will run and is in the midst of going through the necessary paperwork.
“I just think that we could do better,” said Hale, 78, who describes himself as a lifelong Democrat.
Any challenge to Moore would be a formidable task. Even though he had some losses in the recent General Assembly session and his approval ratings have taken a slight dip, he remains popular and has more than $4 million in the bank already for his reelection. Most recent polling has shown a majority of those surveyed approve of Moore’s performance.
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Moore’s campaign team declined to comment Thursday.
Hale said he thinks Moore is distracted by his national ambitions and isn’t doing a good enough job creating jobs and boosting the economy.
“I think the general consensus is that he’s going to run for president and that makes him, I guess, someone that is not fully invested in Maryland,” Hale said. “I’m going to be that person.”
Moore has repeatedly denied he is “not running” for president in 2028, including Thursday on “The View”
Hale, who grew up in eastern Baltimore County and now lives in Easton, would bring a varied and slightly checkered history to politics. He has deep ties to the state’s business community and experience in several industries.
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He’s best known in Baltimore as the owner of the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team and the former CEO of First Mariner Bank, from which he retired in 2011. First Mariner, sunk by bad mortgages during the Great Recession, went bankrupt and was eventually acquired by Howard Bank. (Howard Bank merged with First National Bank in 2022.)
Hale also had shipping and trucking companies and worked in real estate development, building an office tower in Canton.
In a 2014 biography by author Kevin Cowherd, Hale said he assisted the CIA, who used his businesses as cover for operatives.
Hale has found himself in trouble more than once.
In 2011, he was charged with bringing a loaded gun in a carry-on bag to BWI Marshall Airport. He was granted probation before judgment and ordered to pay a fine, according to court records.
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And in 2020, the Blast soccer team sold an anti-China T-shirt that Hale said he thought was “funny” but others described as racist. The front carried the word “strong” and an American flag, with the back of the shirt showing an outline of the country of China with a slash symbol over it.
It’s not unusual for a Maryland governor seeking reelection to face a primary challenge, though often those candidates provide only token opposition.
There’s only one candidate for governor who has filed candidacy paperwork, Republican John A. Myrick of Prince George’s County, who selected Brenda J. Thiam, a former state delegate from Washington County, as his lieutenant governor running mate.
Many are waiting to see if former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, enters the 2026 race to reclaim his old job. Hogan lost a bid for the U.S. Senate last year and has not made any announcements about his future. Maryland limits governors to two consecutive terms, but they can run again after leaving office.
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