Now You Know, Maryland and Knowing is Half the Battle!

Four years ago, Wes Moore was the shiny new product on the shelf. Four years later, Marylanders had plenty of time to read the ingredients, check the price tag, and experience the aftertaste.

Four years ago, plenty of Marylanders took a chance on Wes Moore.

Some liked the résumé. Some liked the speeches. Some thought Dan Cox was too much. Some were younger and still figuring out what they believed. Some probably just went along with the crowd because, yes, peer pressure is real, even when the subject is politics instead of where everybody is going Friday night.

I get it. I’m in college. I have seen people change political opinions faster than they change majors.

But four years later, nobody gets to say we do not know what a Wes Moore administration looks like.

My dad has this thing he does whenever he teaches me something. It could be how to tie a tie, change a tire, or avoid doing something extremely stupid. Then Dad hits me (NOT LITERALLY) with the old GI Joe line: Nate “Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.”  I totally think he heard the GI JOE theme song playing in his head in the background.

Wes Moore and Maryland Democrats could have learned from this PSA.

Dad joke? Absolutely.

Also perfect here.

Because now we know.

Wes Moore looked great in the package in 2022: smooth speeches. Inspirational biography. National attention. Plenty of political glitter.  Sadly, we know now half of his biography was false; the other half was stretched so thin you could see through it.

The problem is, packaging is still packaging.

Think of Moore’s first campaign like gas-station sushi. It looks surprisingly decent through the plastic. You tell yourself, “How bad could this be?” Then thirty minutes later, you are reconsidering every decision that brought you to this moment.

Maryland has now had the full four-year taste test.

Start with what it costs to live here.

A one-year registration for a passenger car weighing up to 3,500 pounds is now $120.50. Vehicle emissions testing went from $14 to $30. The state vehicle excise tax rose from 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Maryland added a $5 fee on the first sale of each new tire beginning in 2026.

The state also imposed a 3 percent sales tax on certain data and information technology services, increased the cannabis sales tax from 9 percent to 12 percent, and raised the mobile sports wagering tax from 15 percent to 20 percent. The sales-tax exemption for snack food sold through vending machines was repealed too.

Individually, supporters can explain every one of those things. Roads cost money. Programs cost money. Budgets have to balance. Moore himself argued that his fiscal plan also included major spending reductions, tax changes targeting higher earners, and no increase in the general 6 percent sales tax rate or the state property tax.

Fair enough.

But normal people do not experience government as a budget briefing. They experience it when they renew tags, buy a car, get an emissions notice, replace four tires, pay a contractor, or watch another little charge appear where there wasn’t one before.

That is the part politicians always seem shocked that voters notice.

And yes, some of the fee changes began in the 2024 legislative session, while others came through the 2025 budget deal. The point is not that every increase arrived on one dramatic Tuesday morning with Wes Moore personally holding a giant TAX button.

The point is that this is the governing record.

It also tells us something about what a second term could look like. Nobody can honestly predict every tax, fee, or budget decision that would come after the 2026 election. But voters do have a pattern they can examine. When Maryland faced major budget pressure, the answer included spending reductions, yes, but it also included hundreds of millions of dollars in new or higher taxes and fees. Maryland legislative analysts calculated nearly $1.48 billion in added general-fund revenue from 2025-session actions alone.

That matters because elections are not product launches. You do not have to judge the next four years from a commercial. You can judge the people in power by what they already did with the first four.  Let’s keep in mind the giant elephant in the room: Blueprint is a dismal failure.  Yet Wes Moore and Maryland Democrats will fight to the death defending Blueprint.

In 2022, Wes Moore was the new item on the shelf.

In 2026, we have read the ingredients.

We know the price.

We know the aftertaste.

And, thanks to my dad and a cartoon from forty years ago, we also know something else.

Remember, kids: now you know, and “Knowing is half the battle.”  

So, I’ll leave you with one question: Why not Dan?

Learn more about Dan Cox at DanCoxforGovernor.com

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Endnotes

1. MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration, “Fees & Payment Options” https://mva.maryland.gov/title-registration/fees-payment-options

2. MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration, “New Vehicle Registration Fees and Term” https://mva.maryland.gov/your-mva-guide/businesses/bulletins-businesses/new-vehicle-registration-fees-and-term

3. Maryland General Assembly, Transportation Article §22-421 https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=gtr&section=22-421

4. Maryland General Assembly, Tax-General Article §11-104 https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=gtg&section=11-104

5. Maryland Department of Legislative Services, “Fiscal Briefing 2026” https://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/RecurRpt/Fiscal_Briefing_2026.pdf

6. Maryland Department of Legislative Services, “Major Issues Review 2023–2026”
https://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/RecurRpt/2026_Major_Issues_Review_2023_2026.pdf

7. Office of Governor Wes Moore, “FY 2026 Budget Presentation”
https://governor.maryland.gov/news/speeches/fy-2026-budget-presentation

Nathan Benson writes on Maryland government and public safety for Direct Line News.

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