Wes Moore Projected To Win Democratic Nomination For MD Governor

Last Update: Friday at 2:50 p.m.

MARYLAND — Political newcomer Wes Moore won the Democratic nomination in the Maryland governor's race, multiple news outlets projected Friday. The predictions came three days after the primary election.

The Democratic primary was tighter than the GOP field. The Associated Press projected Tuesday evening that Republican Kelly Schulz fell to Dan Cox, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

NBC called the Democratic race Friday at 10:29 a.m. CNN followed at 11:33 a.m. CBS projected Moore as the winner three minutes later. The Associated Press had not yet called the race by 2:45 p.m.

If the results hold, Moore would defeat former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. Moore could face Cox in the Nov. 8 General Election. That victor will replace Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who is finishing his second term and cannot run again.

Related: Dan Cox Wins GOP Nomination For Governor Over Kelly Schulz, AP Projects

Moore knows he entered the race as an underdog, but he thanked his team for its dedication during an unlikely campaign.

"I was almost 4 years old when my father died in front of me because he didn't get the health care that he needed," Moore told supporters on election night, calling for health care reform. "Or when I was 14 years old, and that was the first time that my mother got a job that gave her benefits."

Moore hopes to overcome these challenges and build an energetic, bold and equitable state.

"This is a time for Maryland to grow," Moore said Tuesday. "We will be a state that leaves no one behind."

Candidates React To Projected Victory

Moore had not commented on his projected victory by the last update of this story.

"We’re going to count every vote, but we feel great about the strength of our movement and the future of our state," Moore said Wednesday on Facebook. "Since day one, we have taken nothing for granted, and that won’t stop now, or in November."

Franchot congratulated Moore Friday afternoon in what appeared to be an unofficial concession statement. Moore's opponent predicted that key issues in the General Election will include voting rights, abortion, health care, gun control, climate change and economic stability.

"It is vital that Marylanders come together to elect a Democrat to be the next governor," Franchot said. "I stand ready to ensure this happens."

Perez told ABC that he will not yet concede because there are still plenty of mail-in ballots left to count.

"It’s too early to call this race," Perez's campaign said, according to ABC Political Director Rick Klein. "Yesterday was the first day of counting for the 212,962 recorded and received vote-by-mail ballots and it was a huge day for Tom Perez."

Vote Tally

Maryland election officials are still counting mail-in ballots. Every precinct has reported their early voting and Election Day tallies.

Unofficial ballot counts show that Moore had 34.60 percent of the vote at 2:45 p.m. Perez was in second with 27.81 percent of the support. Franchot was in third, carrying 21.22 percent.

Moore had 158,339 votes to Perez's 127,255. Franchot trailed with 97,088 votes.

Cox is a hardline conservative who had 54.46 percent of the vote. Cox is the state delegate for District 4 in Frederick and Carroll Counties.

Schulz is a more moderate, Hogan-endorsed candidate who reported 41.55 percent of the support. Schulz previously served as Hogan's secretary of labor and secretary of commerce.

Cox had 140,783 votes. Schulz had 107,424.

The latest vote tally is posted at elections.maryland.gov.

Moore's potential victory would be a slight upset. Though Moore was an Army officer and a Rhodes Scholar, this would be his first public office.

Moore would have to surpass a four-term comptroller and an Obama cabinet member to land the Democratic nomination for governor. The former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty nonprofit, was polling in second place heading into the primary election.

A recent Goucher College Poll suggested that 16 percent of Democrats planned to vote for Franchot in the primary. Moore and Perez followed just behind with 14 percent of the anticipated vote.

Why Results Take Time

The primary election was on Tuesday, but officials warned voters that it would take some time to get the final results. Workers released the early voting and Election Day tallies on Tuesday night, but Marylanders are still waiting on the full mail-in and provisional ballot counts.

Under state law, officials could not start tallying mail-in ballots until Thursday morning. Mail-in ballots are those returned through the U.S. Postal Service or placed in one of the state's dropboxes.

Maryland will accept mail-in ballots until Friday, July 29 as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Dropbox voting closed on election night when the polls shut down at 8 p.m.

Some local election offices could finish their mail-in tally on Friday, July 29, but others may continue into the first week of August.

Workers will count the provisional ballots on Wednesday, July 27.

The Maryland State Board of Elections expects to certify the official results during the week of Monday, Aug. 8.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.