BALTIMORE (WBFF) — When Joshua Taylor was recently asked to name Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s biggest accomplishment, he reached for an unlikely comparison: the Hungarian-born American illusionist Harry Houdini.
He made five billion dollars disappear,” Taylor said of the governor. “Houdini can’t even make a surplus disappear.”
Referencing stubborn budget deficits after Moore assumed office, Taylor’s political accusation captures a divide emerging as Maryland’s incumbent governor makes his final case for a second term ahead of Election Day. The governor claims tax relief and falling crime rates, but some voters question whether those successes have actually reached their neighborhoods and wallets.
Joshua Taylor, 32, also known online as ‘ShowLove the Poet,’ told Spotlight on Maryland on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has left him and many other residents behind. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Taylor, 32, has a rapidly growing social media presence under his online persona “ShowLove the Poet,” a Baltimore-area personality whose outspoken videos harshly but directly criticize Moore and city Mayor Brandon Scott.
“I go by ShowLove because that’s what all of this is about to me,” Taylor said. “I’m showing love to people who don’t understand what is going on in politics at all.”
Taylor told Spotlight on Maryland that he has cultivated his provocative social media presence because he believes the state’s Black leaders have left young men of color, like himself, behind.
Moore has touted throughout his reelection effort that he has turned a budget deficit into a surplus. It is a central claim on his campaign website.
Under former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, Maryland ended fiscal year 2022 with a $5.5 billion general fund balance, according to publications from the state comptroller.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore talks with city residents after helping at a food distribution center at the Ruth Kirk Recreation Center September 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. Moore is running against Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Moore said the state was in a “fortunate” financial position when he submitted his administration’s first budget proposal in 2023. By the 2025 legislative session, a structural deficit had grown to a projected $3.3 billion shortfall, ultimately resulting in a record $1.6 billion tax and fee hike to fulfill the state’s constitutionally mandated annual balanced budget requirement.
Despite Moore’s claim that he turned a budget deficit into a surplus that year, the state’s underlying financial issues remain. Maryland is forecast to face another $2.57 billion fiscal cliff in 2028, with a $3.44 billion deficit by 2030.
Taylor told Spotlight on Maryland that Moore’s claims about a tax reduction are another sore point where he questioned the governor’s honesty.
What taxes? What taxes did you cut?” Taylor asked.
Moore’s administration points to its 2025 income tax changes, which they assert gave 94% of Marylanders either a tax cut or no change.
Taylor said those are two different outcomes, and the distinction matters less when increases in certain state fees, including a 3% tax on certain technology services, erased any potential savings.
WHEATON, MD – NOVEMBER 05: Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Wes Moore speaks to supporters during a campaign rally on November 5, 2022 in Annapolis, Maryland. Moore will face off against Trump-backed Republican Dan Cox in the general election on Tuesday. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
“Maryland is expensive to live in,” Taylor said. “You got Marylanders leaving Maryland.”
The social media influencer said his anger turns especially sharp when discussing Moore’s promise to focus on Black young men and boys.
“The frustration that people feel, that young men feel, is very real,” Moore told CNN last year, describing his focus on social programming.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 13: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at an event on the Biden Administration’s workforce initiative plan at Carver Vocational School on November 13, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. The workforce initiative plan will create union jobs and provide training for up and coming workers and comes after the recent announcement that the Administration will invest over $16 billion to modernize Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor creating over 100,000 jobs 1,000 of which will be in Baltimore. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Taylor said he sees a different problem: young people who obey the law but are still left to navigate the fallout from juvenile crime.
What about the little Black girl and little Black boy in Baltimore City that wants to stay away from crime?” he asked.
Moore’s campaign cites a 58% reduction in Baltimore homicides since he took office. Baltimore policerecorded 133 homicides in 2025, the city’s lowest annual total in nearly five decades.
Yet Maryland Department of Juvenile Services figuresshow Baltimore City complaints involving juveniles rose 55.1%, from 1,138 in fiscal 2023 to 1,765 in fiscal 2025, escalating during Moore’s term.
Baltimore resident Darnell Dupree, 25, also sees youth crime as a problem but offers a less sweeping assessment of public programs.
“It’s out of control now compared to what it was before,” Dupree said. “But I do believe that programs being in effect has made a difference and has made a change.”
When asked whether his own life had improved during Moore’s term, Dupree said it had, though he credited his work ethic.
Darnell “DJ” Dupree, 25, said his Baltimore neighbors remain concerned about juvenile crime. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Even so, he cautioned against assuming his experience represents everyone.
“Even though I might say one thing, other people may feel different,” Dupree said.
When asked what Dupree believes young Black men in Maryland are missing, he immediately said, “community.”
I feel like the bare minimum won’t cut it,” Dupree said. “I feel we are all missing brutal honesty and accountability.”
“I can tell you anything that I want to, but if my actions are not matching up with my words, everything I just said was vapor. It doesn’t matter,” he added.
Dupree was also pressed on whether Moore’s actions match his words within the Black community.
“Everybody is entitled to their opinion,” Dupree said. “If you allow the community to speak for themselves and give them the opportunity, they will say exactly what needs to be said.”
CLINTON, MD – NOVEMBER 05: Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Wes Moore attends church service at Mt. Ennon Baptist Church on November 6, 2022 in Clinton, Maryland. Moore will face off against Trump-backed Republican Dan Cox in the general election on Tuesday. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
For two weeks, Spotlight has asked the governor’s campaign and state office to provide evidence supporting the accomplishments his reelection campaign advertises. Neither has directly answered those requests.
Taylor believes residents deserve proof regardless of their politics.
Marylanders need to be demanding the same thing,” he said.
He insisted his concerns extend beyond political parties and racial lines.
“Black and white is not safe. Black and white is being taxed to death. Black and white can’t afford their gas and electric bills,” Taylor said. “It don’t matter your skin tone.”
Send news tips about this story or others to gmcollins@sbgtv.com or contact Spotlight on Maryland’s hotline at (410) 467-4670.
Follow Gary Collins on X and Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
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