The author Wes Moore: Book on ‘healing a divided nation’ set for March release

Fresh off a second thumping of Republican Dan Cox to win reelection to a second term as governor a week ago, Gov. Wes Moore (D) turned his attention this week to fixing the nation.

At least that’s the thrust of the book he touted Wednesday, “Repair: Healing A Divided Nation.” Scheduled for a March 2027 release, Moore’s book is billed “as a bold interrogation of where America falls short, what we still do right, and how we can fix our broken systems together,” he said in a statement from his publisher.

For a guy who refuses to say he won’t run for president in two years, Moore sure seems to be checking all the right boxes — just in case.

In the announcement from publisher Henry Holt & Co., Moore describes his latest book as “an invitation … into a broader conversation about what makes our country great, where we’ve fallen short, and how we build a better future, together.”

He said the book will tell the stories of “what happens when good people do hard things, even in the face of unimaginable odds.”

Gov. Wes Moore rolls to easy reelection win in rematch with Republican challenger Dan Cox

Moore, who became the first Black governor of Maryland when he was elected in 2022, said those stories will be interspersed with “memories of service from my life inside and outside of politics.” But the book, he said, is not a “personal political memoir.”

Moore has been coy about his plans and if they include a 2028 presidential run. Even so, Moore has spent a great deal of time in his first term traveling the country fundraising and building political relationships as well as being a regular on national news programs.

Moore’s latest release joins those of other Democrats mentioned as potential 2028 presidential candidates: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s “Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country”: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service”: and “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,”
by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others. All three were published this year.

This is not Moore’s first book. He has written a number of others including the New York Times bestseller, “The Other Wes Moore,” as well as “Five Days” and “The Work.”

And Moore is not the only Maryland governor to write a book.

Larry Hogan released his book — “Still Standing” — in 2020. It was two years into his second term in office (the first for a Republican governor since Theodore McKeldin). It also came at a time when he was teasing the possibility of a run for president.

Martin O’Malley, a Democrat who also had presidential aspirations, published a book after he left office focused on governing in the information age. Robert Ehrlich, who became the first Republican since Spiro Agnew to be elected governor, has written more than a half dozen books. Most recently, “Trump 2.0: Revolution, Redemption, Revival” in 2025.

In addition to O’Malley and Hogan, another Maryland politician with presidential aspirations got briefly into the publishing business. Former Rep. John Delaney (D-6th) released “The Right Answer: How We Can Divide Our Divided Nation” in 2018, a year after he announced his 2020 presidential campaign, which subsequently fizzzled.

Moore said his new book is meant “to pose hard questions and spark honest dialogue. This book is about how we can rediscover our common humanity and relearn our common purpose. I offer my thoughts, with an invitation for readers to lend theirs. In the work of repair, every fingerprint matters.”

Any details of Moore’s life that are offered in the book are likely to become fodder for reporters. Moore’s life and political branding are inextricably linked.

He has faced criticisms related to what some describe as embellishments, misstatements and failures to correct how others have introduced him.

A CNN report in 2022 noted details in “The Other Wes Moore,” a book that “lays out the basic details of his life factually, a less accurate version of his Baltimore roots has taken on a life of its own, fueled by more than a decade of assertions by other people in TV interviews that he is a Baltimore native, born and raised in the city.”

Moore also came under intense scrutiny over his service record and claims about receiving the Bronze Star. A New York Times story in 2024 reported that Moore had been recommended for the honor but had not received it. Moore called it an honest mistake.

He ultimately received the award in a private ceremony at Government House, the governor’s mansion four months after the New York Times story.