Moore posts big early lead in Democratic gubernatorial primary; Perez is second and optimistic

Best-selling author and former foundation executive Wes Moore, who began his long-shot pursuit of the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in single digits, catapulted into the lead on Tuesday as the first wave of ballots were counted. With early-voting ballots counted and 1,958 of 2,074 precincts reporting primary day ballots, Moore and his running mate, former state Del. Aruna Miller, had 37% of the primary vote. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, a former Maryland Labor Secretary and Montgomery County Council member, had 27%. He and his running mate, former Baltimore City Council member Shannon Sneed, trailed Moore and Miller by about 34,000 votes.