Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday said he’s being “genuine” when he says he’s not running for president in 2028, once again highlighting that he’s focused on Maryland. The Thursday statement, though, is his most brazen in addressing chatter about whether he plans on seeking higher office in the coming years.

The Maryland governor participated in a fireside chat with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican and chair of the National Governors Association, at Politico’s 2026 Governors Summit in Washington, D.C. Moore is the association’s vice chair.

Both leaders were asked whether their parties should nominate a governor as their presidential candidate. Moore said that political discourse should focus on the current moment. “If you’re not focusing on 2026, then I’m not sure what you’re doing,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think “there’s any reason to hide a ball [from] people.”

But despite announcing five months ago that he’ll seek a second term as Maryland’s governor, Moore hasn’t yet filed for reelection with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Still, former Govs. Larry Hogan and Martin O’Malley have also filed for reelection just before state deadlines.

Carter Elliott IV, Moore’s campaign senior communications adviser, said the governor “plans to file for reelection prior to the deadline.”

“Last year, Governor Moore announced his reelection campaign with bipartisan support from leaders across Maryland that praised his work to jumpstart Maryland’s economy, make our communities safer, and strengthen our public schools,” Elliott wrote in an email Thursday to The Baltimore Sun.

The Sun asked Elliott why the governor has taken so long to file for reelection, to which he reiterated, “The people of Maryland remain his sole focus, and he plans to file for reelection prior to the deadline.”

But Maryland Republicans — who, time after time, accuse Moore of prioritizing appearances in the national media circuit over tackling the state’s problems — don’t believe the governor.

“He can say ‘he’s not running for President’ but the kind of national appearances, travel and his insistence on trying to eliminate the only minority party voice in Maryland’s congressional delegation at the behest of the national Democratic Party powerbrokers tell a different story,” Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready said in a text Thursday to The Baltimore Sun, referring to national Democratic leadership’s direct role in pushing for Maryland to redraw its congressional maps. “At a time when Marylanders are being crushed under the weight of his tax and fee increases and our state’s self-inflicted energy crisis, he’s focused on DC politics,” Ready added.

House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy argued that Moore’s “actions speak louder than his words.”

“The fact that this Governor is hanging out with George Clooney, Hakeem Jeffries and is only focused on partisan gerrymandering, immigration enforcement, while completely ignoring nearly every important issue facing our state, says otherwise,” Pippy said referring to Moore last year vacationing on Democratic Party megadonor George Clooney’s yacht, a move many in politics interpreted as the governor currying favor with party insiders in preparation for a potential 2028 presidential run.

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said while it’s normal for Moore to have more access to the D.C. media market by virtue of Maryland’s close proximity to the capital, “There’s still work to be done in Annapolis.”

Speculation around whether Moore plans on running for president have persisted since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and Democrats seek a formidable leader to lead their party. Many Democratic governors’ names have been floated as potential contenders for the nation’s top job, and Moore’s consistently appears alongside others such as Govs. Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker and Andy Beshear. Moore’s approval ratings have also risen and he’s one of the country’s most popular governors, according to polling.

But Moore’s actions have fueled rumors about him potentially throwing his name in the hat for a 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Firstly, he began the 2026 legislative session with a revamped staff composed of many former campaign aides to former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Moore has also spent considerable time on national media platforms, where in addition to issues affecting Maryland, he has opined on the future of the Democratic Party and national issues such as the release of the Epstein files.

Moore has also campaigned for Democrats in other states and also visited South Carolina, a state crucial to the Democratic primaries that propelled Biden to victory in 2020.

Still, political analysts told The Sun that voters should take Moore at his word when he says he’s not running for president — for now.

“I believe him in the sense that he is focused on 2026, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have aspirations to run in 2028,” Sarah Oliver, a professor at Towson University told The Sun.

Oliver added that Moore’s tours of the national media circuit could be related to his gubernatorial run in Maryland since appearing on networks such as CNN and MSNBC affords him a wider Maryland audience. But, she continued, it’s reasonable for Marylanders to be perturbed should Moore win his reelection and, shortly after, announce a presidential run.

“It would be reason[able] Marylanders to be like, ‘Hey, we went through this whole election. We voted for you. We want another term, and you are trying to cut that short.’” Oliver said. But “I don’t necessarily think that threatens his presidential aspirations. But it could bring down some Maryland approval of what he’s doing.”

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