Wes Moore

Deep Dive

Moore is Maryland's governor and the Democratic nominee for a second term. He has never held federal office, so none of the congressional votes this site tracks are his. What he has is a state record and a set of statements, and the two point in different directions.

His criticism is of the Israeli government and it is blunt. Asked in a May 2026 interview with Politico whether he considers himself a Zionist, he said "I think that the State of Israel has a right to exist, but I also think that so do the Palestinian people", and that he does not believe the prime minister "is putting the same measure of focus on Palestinian lives as he does on Israeli lives." He declined to say whether the conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, saying international tribunals would decide that, and then said: "I know as a military person that you cannot use food as a negotiating tool. That is a war crime, and I think Bibi Netanyahu has committed war crimes." In a July 2026 television interview he said it again: "Denying food to people and using it as a cudgel is a war crime". Six months before that, at a Jewish community legislative breakfast, he had told the same audience that "Maryland stands with the Israeli people" and that Hamas "has not been and will never be a faithful partner in any peace process", adding: "the safety of Palestinians is also the safety of Israelis, and the safety of Israelis is the safety of Palestinians." He holds both of those at once, and has said so.

His state record runs the other way from the criticism. Maryland has had an executive order since 2017 barring state contracts with companies that boycott Israel. He pledged as a candidate in 2022 to keep it, and he has kept it through a public campaign asking him to repeal it. Separately, the state pension system sold most of its holdings of Israel bonds. That was the pension board's decision, the system publicly denied having adopted any policy against those investments, and nothing located records Moore taking a position on it either way. On the state's own spending he has been consistent in one direction: he committed $10 million a year to security grants for houses of worship and nonprofits, double the previous figure.

What remains thin is the federal question. He is reported to have said in a July 2026 television interview that American taxpayer dollars should not go as unconditional aid to any country, Israel included. If he said it, it is the closest he has come to a position on U.S. aid; the only carriers we could find for it are a video and a listening site's summary of it, so it is not on the card. Nothing else located has him asking for U.S. weapons or U.S. money for the government of Israel to be cut, conditioned or increased, and nothing has him on U.S. humanitarian funding for Gaza. If you want that answer, you are better placed to get it than we are: ask Moore directly and send us the reply. It goes on this page in his own words.

The record

• Has maintained Maryland's 2017 anti-boycott procurement executive order despite a repeal campaign, after pledging as a candidate in 2022 to keep it.

In their words

Research log

The notes behind this card: what we looked at, what we found, and where each item came from.

U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel

• [Position, 2026-07-16, unverified] Our search reports that in a television interview he questioned unconditional U.S. military aid and said American taxpayer dollars should not be given as unconditional aid to any entity, Israel included. The carriers offered are the broadcast video and a podcast-clip site's summary of it. Neither is a citable text, so the claim is described here and is not quoted, linked or used on the card. If a transcript exists, it would materially change this card.
• [Reaction window, 2023-10-13] Prepared remarks at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington's Stand with Israel rally (governor.maryland.gov): "President Biden has been very clear: The United States will always have Israel's back. And the State of Maryland stands in lockstep." Not on the card summary: dated inside the reaction window. Research page only. Note also that the sentence endorses the federal posture in general terms and names no weapons, money or programme.
• [Position, 2026] Apart from the unverified item above, nothing located in which he asks for U.S. weapons or U.S. money for the government of Israel to be cut, conditioned or increased. His criticism, set out below, is directed at the Israeli prime minister's conduct.

⚠ **Rejected item.** Our search also reported that he called for a ceasefire on a Washington radio programme in March 2024. The only address given for it is a Washington Post article about a different Maryland politician, and it would not load on any route we tried. Not used, and recorded here as looked at and rejected.

U.S. aid to Palestinians

• Nothing located. No statement on humanitarian funding for Gaza or on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Characterization of the conflict

• [Position, 2026-05-26] Interview with Politico, reported and quoted verbatim by Jewish Insider on that date, read and verified 2026-08-17: "I think that the State of Israel has a right to exist, but I also think that so do the Palestinian people"; "From what we've seen from Bibi Netanyahu, I just do not know, and nor believe, that he is putting the same measure of focus on Palestinian lives as he does on Israeli lives"; and, after declining to say whether the conduct amounts to genocide and saying international tribunals would decide, "I know as a military person that you cannot use food as a negotiating tool. That is a war crime, and I think Bibi Netanyahu has committed war crimes." The record dates the interview itself to 2026-05-19; the carrier's own date is 2026-05-26, which is the date used here. Vin News reported the same remarks on 2026-05-24.
• [Position, 2026-07-22] Television interview, quoted verbatim by Fox45 Baltimore: "Denying food to people and using it as a cudgel is a war crime," and, in a separate sentence in the same passage, "I think absolutely he's committed war crimes and I think absolutely he needs to be accountable for this." The same article records criticism of his language from the Baltimore Jewish Council's executive director and from a Baltimore Jewish Times editorial.
• [Position, 2025-12-03] Remarks to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington's annual Maryland legislative breakfast, reported by Jewish Insider the next day and verified verbatim: "Today, I want to be loud and clear, that Maryland stands with the Israeli people and we support their right to exist in the region with the same sense of safety and security that we all want." And, on Hamas, that it "has not been and will never be a faithful partner in any peace process." And: "A very clear understanding that the safety of Palestinians is also the safety of Israelis, and the safety of Israelis is the safety of Palestinians." He also said his message from October 2023 had not changed.
• [Position, 2025-08-31] In an interview he is reported to have said that those who believe in the long-term stability of the state of Israel cannot focus on winning a war while losing the world. The only carriers are video clips, so the line is described here and not quoted.

State action: contracting and pension investments

• [Prior, 2022] Baltimore Jewish Council candidate questionnaire: he opposed the boycott movement and pledged to keep Maryland's 2017 executive order barring state contracts with companies that boycott Israel.
• [Position, 2026-01-05] He has kept that order in place through a repeal campaign. The Council on American-Islamic Relations ran an action alert urging repeal and noting that he had declined.
• [Position, 2026-06-18] The Maryland state pension system sold most of its holdings of Israel bonds, per Democracy Now, which reports activists citing a fall from roughly $73 million to $11 million and saying no policy prevents reinvestment.
• [Position, 2026-05-28] The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System denied that this was a boycott, saying it "has not adopted any policies to discourage or prohibit investments in Israel bonds." The board is independent of the governor and no statement from Moore on the sale was located.

Related rhetoric and lobbying

• [Position, 2026-06-03] Editorials in the Baltimore Jewish Times and the Washington Jewish Week called his war-crimes language reckless. An open letter to him followed on 2026-07-31 on a blog platform. These are other people's responses to him and nothing on the card rests on them; they are here because a reader should see that the criticism exists and where it came from.
• No endorsement from any tracked committee was located.

Safety and antisemitism (context)

• [Position, 2025-12-03] He committed $10 million a year to the state's Protecting Against Hate Crimes grant programme, which pays for physical security at houses of worship, schools and nonprofits, announced on his own office's site. The figure is double the previous allocation. State money spent at home.
• [Position, 2026-04] He signed state legislation creating penalties for obstructing entry to houses of worship, described in a commentary piece on a blog platform and in a Washington Jewish Week piece on the session's agenda.
• [Reaction window, 2023-10-10] He directed state and local police to increase security around synagogues and Jewish institutions, reported by CBS News Baltimore. Not on the card summary.
• [Position, 2026-05-26] In the Politico interview he argued that the Israeli prime minister's actions put Jews in Israel and America at risk and complicate the fight against antisemitism.

Race and status context

• Democratic incumbent seeking re-election, running against the Republican nominee Dan Cox and the Green Party's Andy Ellis, per Ballotpedia's race page and his Ballotpedia profile.
• He did not serve in Congress during any of the tracked votes.