Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's name floated as potential VP pick for Harris ticket
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's name floated as potential pick for Harris ticket after Biden drops out
President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and instead endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. In Maryland, the decision could directly impact Gov. Wes Moore's political future.
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and instead endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite weeks of speculation, the historic move brought a seismic shake-up to the political playing field and the reverberations will be felt across the Democratic party.
In Maryland, the decision could impact Gov. Wes Moore's political future.
Voters there told FOX 5 that after the news broke, they were sad Biden decided not to run, believing he was still up for the job and had a record to run on. But even those voters understood the apprehension surrounding Biden, particularly in the last month.
"I feel it’s unfortunate that he had to withdraw just based on all that he’s done for the country but I’m excited about Kamala and looking forward to supporting her," Prince George’s County resident Toni Williams told FOX 5.
Other Democratic voters say they’re overall excited about Harris at the top of the ticket, believing another Democrat will energize the party and give them a better shot of retaining the presidency.
Now, the spotlight turns to who will be running with her.
READ MORE: Trump, Newsom, Buttigieg, Vance and more react to Biden's withdrawal, Harris endorsement
Moore has become a standout in the Democratic party — particularly following his handling of the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse — and his name had been floated by some as a potential nominee for the party.
In an opinion piece for the New York Times, actor George Clooney called for Biden to step aside and mentioned a handful of potential new candidates, including Moore.
As Biden has officially endorsed Harris, some are wondering if Moore’s name could appear on the ballot as her vice presidential running mate.
FOX 5 spoke with some Democratic voters Sunday who say they’re supportive of the job he’s done as Maryland’s governor but with the idea being so new, they hadn’t quite formed an opinion on whether they’d like to see him on the ticket.
"I haven’t thought that far down the line, he’s new, he’s our governor of Maryland and I’m enjoying and liking what he’s doing, but we’ll see if anybody else comes up," Pamela McKenna said.
"I would have to look into it more and see, you know, see what the possibilities are," another Maryland resident, Shawn, said.
As for supporters of former President Donald Trump, one man told FOX 5 he thought running against Biden gave former Trump a better shot to win but he’s still confident Trump can beat any candidate Democrats put forward, adding that he’s not even sold on the idea that Harris will become the official nominee.
"I don’t think it’s going to be Trump versus Harris. I think Trump versus anybody," Trump’s going to win," Ken Spencer said. "I don’t think it matters at this point."