Politics

Ivan Bates, the Democratic nominee for Baltimore state’s attorney, pledged at a news conference Monday to prosecute gun cases more aggressively but also asked for patience as he prepares to take over the job of top prosecutor from two-term incumbent Marilyn Mosby. Bates, a 53-year-old criminal defense attorney, is favored to win the general election in November after his victory in the Democratic primary last week. There is no Republican candidate in the race, though Bates will face Roya Hanna, an independent candidate who originally filed to run as a Democrat.

Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) appears to have gotten her man in the Senate race in her legislative district. Jones — along with outgoing Sen. Delores Kelley (D) — had endorsed Del. Ben Brooks (D) for the Senate seat in the 10th District, which Kelley is giving up after 28 years on the job. And Brooks is leading Del. Jay Jalisi — who is often a bur in the side of legislative leaders — and two other candidates as ballots continue to be counted. The 10th District race is one of several competitive Senate primaries — some for open seats, others involving potentially formidable challengers, that were on tap this year and are in the process of being called.

After Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s choice to succeed him flopped in last week’s Republican primary, his political allies insisted Hogan’s calm brand of moderation will ultimately prevail over the Donald Trump-led right wing. “At the end of the day, the governor will be right and Trump and his ego will be wrong,” longtime Hogan strategist Doug Mayer said. “It’s the long game.” But how long? Even before Hogan-endorsed Kelly Schulz, a former state commerce secretary, lost to Trump-backed Dan Cox, analysts said it was difficult to say when — or if — Hogan’s moment would come in a national party whose base remains enthralled by the twice-impeached 45th president Hogan has often opposed.

Wes Moore has lived quite a few lives. Rhodes scholar. U.S. Army officer who saw combat in Afghanistan. Investment banker. Bestselling author. Leader of a massive anti-poverty nonprofit organization. And now, as a first-time candidate for elected office, his next role may very well be governor of Maryland. Moore, 43, defeated a sprawling field of experienced and well-funded candidates to win the Democratic nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary. In facing Republican Del. Dan Cox in the general election, he’s hoping to return the state government to full Democratic control after eight years of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

Maryland Republicans’ choice of candidates in Tuesday’s primary election was also a choice about the direction of the party: Was it still the party of outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan’s pragmatic conservatism, or had the cultural clashes and demagoguery that has swept other states taken control here? The nomination of an election conspiracy theorist for governor and a one-time Southern secessionist for attorney general delivered a clear answer.