Annapolis, Maryland — Today the Human Rights Campaign PAC (HRC PAC) announced its endorsement of Wes Moore’s campaign for Governor of Maryland. HRC PAC is committed to engaging our volunteers, members and supporters to mobilize the nearly 2.2 million Equality Voters in Maryland in support of Wes Moore and other pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof released the following statement:

“The LGBTQ+ community deserves to have elected officials who are not only willing to be vocal in their support for freedom and equality for all, but are also ready to pass pro-equality policies on day one – this is exactly what Wes Moore will be as the next Governor of Maryland. Throughout his campaign, Wes Moore has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to making Maryland a haven for LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access. The Human Rights Campaign is proud to endorse Wes Moore for Governor of Maryland.”

Wes Moore released the following statement:

"I've got a message to anyone trying to take away rights from our LGBTQ+ community here in Maryland – you'll have to go through me first. I fought for this country because I believe in freedom for all Americans. As governor, I won't just stand up for our LGBTQ+ community, I'll fight for them. Because that's what it means to leave no one behind, that's what it means to be an American. I'm grateful to have HRC in this fight alongside me as we work to build a more inclusive and tolerant Maryland."

As a candidate, Wes Moore has been outspoken about his commitment to making LGBTQ+ rights a top priority for his administration. On the campaign trail, Moore has promised to work with organizations to create partnerships with LGBTQ+ youth by providing critical resources and support to queer and transgender Marylanders. Moore is also a supporter of the Trans Health Equity Act which would ensure access to gender-affirming health care for transgender Marylanders.

HRC’s Commitment to Maryland

Equality Voters, including the nearly 2.2 million in Maryland, are a voting bloc of demographically and geographically diverse Americans who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. Equality Voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, they recognize and trust the HRC brand, and they are more likely to identify with issue-specific organizations than candidates or political parties.

Across the country, HRC PAC works every day to elect pro-equality leaders who support policies that will support the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people. During the 2020 election cycle, HRC staff on the ground recruited 5,800 individual volunteers nationwide who completed 28,500 hours of voter contact in more than 2,650 volunteer events. HRC engaged in robust digital and online GOTV efforts, including sending over 2.7 million person-to-person text messages, a massive increase from 2018 when approximately 500,000 texts were sent. HRC sent over 2.5 million mail pieces, had over 930,000 phone conversations with voters, and engaged more than 200,000 voters through HRC’s voter dashboard at hrc.org/vote.