SALISBURY, Md. (WBFF) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has celebrated Democrats’ election victories over the past week, including seats flipped in Wicomico County, pointing to an Eastern Shore breakthrough as evidence of his party’s growing reach in the heavily blue state.
But according to current state election numbers, voters in that county rejected Moore himself. Again.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore wins second term on Nov. 3, 2026. (7News)
“Already, we have seen that we have flipped nine seats from red to blue, from Frederick to Wicomico, right?” Moore declared Nov. 4, one day after winning reelection statewide.
I’ll say the days of having a governor with no coattails, those days are over,” Moore added.
Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican who represents the Eastern Shore, offered a sharply different assessment Friday when Spotlight on Maryland pressed him about the governor’s claims.
“If he has coattails, they were mighty short,” Harris said.
The numbers complicate both politicians’ arguments.
According to the Maryland State Board of Elections’ unofficial returns, Moore received 14,715 votes in Wicomico, or 46.06%, compared with 15,799 votes, or 49.46%, for Republican challenger Dan Cox.
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Moore lost the county again, this time by 1,084 votes.
Four years earlier, Moore also lost to Cox in Wicomico, receiving 45.79% of the vote.
Moore’s share improved by just 0.27 percentage points this year, even as Democrats captured the county executive’s office, a House of Delegates seat and control of the county council.
Wicomico County Executive-elect Ernest Davis, a Democrat, flipped a Republican held seat on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
One of the Democrats who won was Ernest Davis, defeating incumbent Republican County Executive Julie Giordano in a rematch that reversed their 2022 outcome.
Giordano beat Davis by 2,449 votes four years ago. This time, unofficial returns show Davis winning 16,857 to 14,940, marking a 1,917-vote margin.
Davis received 2,142 more votes than Moore on the same county ballot.
So who deserves the credit?
“People wanted to change, and that’s all I could contribute that to,” Davis told Spotlight on Maryland in his Salisbury driveway on Friday.
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Asked whether state Democratic leaders powered his win, Davis initially said no before identifying Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes, a local Democrat, as an important supporter.
A campaign sign for Wicomico County Executive-elect Ernie Davis, a Democrat, who defeated Republican incumbent Julie Giordano on Election Day. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
He credited his campaign staff and small-dollar local donors, not a wave generated in Annapolis.
I don’t know what he did to contribute to that,” Davis said when asked about Moore’s role in flipping seats.
Moore’s campaign spokesperson, Carter Elliott, IV, attributed more than “$1.3 million on Maryland candidates” and hosting “over 40 fundraisers for leaders across the state” as the reason for seat flips.
“Gov. Moore put in the work, time, and resources to make sure Maryland was elected commonsense leaders across the state to continue record drops in violent crime, keep building on a five-year high in reading and math scores, and double down on growing our economy,” Elliott said.
Josh Hastings, who unseated Republican Del. Barry Beauchamp in District 38B, credited neighborhood organizing and a message focused on everyday concerns.
Hastings won 7,566 votes to Beauchamp’s 5,130, garnering nearly 60% of the vote.
All of that happened largely because of ground game,” Hastings said.
But Hastings also defended Moore’s involvement, citing campaign contributions, repeat visits and a rally in Salisbury.
Josh Hastings, a delegate-elect who flipped a Republican seat in the Maryland House of Delegates from red to blue in Wicomico County, spoke to Spotlight on Maryland in Salisbury, Md., on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
“Not only financial contributions. He’s been here,” Hastings said. He suggested Davis might not have won without the governor’s support.
Meanwhile, Harris said Republican in Wicomico County is part of the reason for his party’s failures last Tuesday.
The bottom line: Wicomico County had infighting in the Republican Party,” Harris said. “That was to blame.”
Spotlight on Maryland previously reported last summer about a bitter dispute between Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano and Republican Sheriff Mike Lewis involving allegations over sexually explicit images and correspondence between their offices.
Giordano denied sending inappropriate photographs to deputies and called the allegations false.
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In correspondence disclosed after a public records fight with Spotlight on Maryland, Lewis challenged Giordano’s account that his office didn’t have written correspondence about the alleged sexually explicit photographs.
Ultimately, after Spotlight on Maryland reported on the internal fight between the county leaders and threatened an imminent lawsuit for public records, Giordano called a last-minute press conference to address the allegation and then released the documents showing that a series of letters about the allegations did exist.
Lewis, meanwhile, won reelection with 17,020 votes, making him Maryland’s longest-serving sheriff.
Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano told Spotlight on Maryland on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at Salisbury University that she has not received a letter telling her to stop sending alleged nude photos to sheriff’s deputies. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
Giordano did not respond to repeated interview requests Thursday and Friday.
Beyond infighting, Harris also claimed outside gambling interests spent heavily to flip Wicomico County’s delegate seat.
He rejected criticism that his own leadership contributed to the setback.
Well, that’s ridiculous,” Harris said.
Soon after Spotlight started asking questions on election night, his wife, Maryland Republican Party Chair Nicole Beus Harris, circulated an email, polling party leaders on whether speaking to the media was acceptable.
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“Due to a social media post yesterday, the MDGOP has received multiple email requests for interviews and comments on internal MDGOP business,” Beus Harris wrote. “I have always felt that internal business should stay internal.”
“Especially in the current climate with the unfortunate and historic blue tsunami that hit this country yesterday – I believe that showing any internal division can play into the Democrats [sic] hands and will only hurt our reputation more,” Beus Harris added.
Beus Harris copied an email sent by FOX45 News political reporter Mikenzie Frost requesting an interview. She asked her members to complete a one-question survey by voting yes or no on her philosophy.
We have to build a better relationship with the public, not become the drama in the news,” Beus Harris wrote. “Do you agree?”
Through her spokesperson, Beus Harris did not accept Spotlight on Maryland’s interview request, citing that her party leadership “agreed” with her that it “was not appropriate or productive” to speak to the media.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said “Republican infighting” caused some Election Day losses on Nov. 3, 2026, specifically in Wicomico County. (Steve Pierce/Spotlight on Maryland)
Her husband, Rep. Harris, also lost Wicomico, receiving 15,219 votes to Democrat Dan Schwartz’s 16,894, although Harris won reelection across his congressional district.
The congressman also faced multiple viral moments on social media during his reelection campaign, including one over a reporter’s two-party consent during a press gaggle. Harris demanded that her phone be taken from her for recording before he abruptly left the room.
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Elsewhere, Republicans – including state delegates Ryan Nawrocki and Kathy Szeliga – held their seats despite Democratic efforts, complicating any sweeping statewide explanation.
They and other colleagues in the Maryland Freedom Caucus were targets of Moore-aligned groups.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Matt Morgan argued on social media that those flipped seats were Democratic-leaning districts where Republicans had previously outperformed expectations.
“Well, I guess there was an exception with the Freedom Caucus districts because we did go with what we think is 9 and 0,” Morgan said.
Do you have any tips or information related to this story? Send news tips 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.
This post was originally published on Fox 45 by Sinclair Media Group.
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