Open primaries advocate Jeremy Gruber says nearly 100,000 independent voters in D.C. remain locked out of primary elections despite voters overwhelmingly approving open primaries in 2024. On The Final 5 with Jim Lokay, he blames the D.C. Council for refusing to fund the change and says similar efforts are gaining momentum in Maryland, where more than one million independents are also excluded from primaries. Gruber argues that in many one-party jurisdictions, the primary is effectively the election, making voter access even more critical.

HAGERSTOWN, MD (June 17, 2026) – The Washington County Department of Business and Economic Development would like to share important information following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of a Federal Secretarial Disaster Declaration for Maryland in response to the severe freeze event that occurred on April 21, 2026. The declaration was approved by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins following a formal request from Governor Wes Moore.
This federal designation makes critical financial assistance available to agricultural producers who experienced significant crop losses due to the sudden freeze. The event caused extensive damage to perennial crops across Maryland, with losses exceeding the 30 percent threshold required for a federal disaster declaration. Many growers are now facing substantial expenses related to crop recovery, plant health, labor, and ongoing maintenance despite having little to no harvestable yield this season.
In addition to freeze-related impacts, many areas of the state continue to experience prolonged drought conditions, further increasing the financial challenges facing Maryland’s agricultural community.
As a result of the disaster declaration, producers in Washington County and 11 other designated primary counties, as well as eligible contiguous counties, may qualify for low-interest emergency loans and other assistance programs through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). These resources are intended to help producers recover losses, maintain operations, and support the long-term viability of Maryland agriculture.
Affected producers are encouraged to contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency office as soon as possible to discuss available assistance programs and begin the application process.
The assessment of agricultural losses in additional Maryland counties remains ongoing. Additional information, resources, and updates are available through the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Washington County remains committed to supporting our agricultural community and encourages producers impacted by the freeze event to explore the assistance programs available through this federal disaster declaration.
Click here to view Governor Wes Moore’s announcement.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — Gov. Wes Moore, who has anchored his political identity in a narrative of military service and the creed to “leave no one behind,” is facing mounting national pressure to provide a full accounting of his career after his office’s explanations failed to match available records.

The scrutiny — driven by a months-long investigation by veteran Army colonel and reporter Drew Sullins for the Spotlight on Maryland series in The Baltimore Sun — centers on a growing disconnect between Moore’s public storytelling and his official military documentation.

As Sullins continues to parse the governor’s record, Moore’s team has had to defend the authenticity of his biographical claims while grappling with requests from journalists to release his complete personnel file and be transparent with the Marylanders the governor is paid to serve.

Moore, who has refused to answer most of Spotlight’s questions, has instead provided interviews to a local news site and national outlets.

When asked last week during a CNN interview if he had provided a full accounting of his military history, Moore said he “never” mischaracterized his military career.

“I’m very proud of the service we did,” Moore said.

Spotlight’s reporting has largely focused on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and interviews with military experts and veterans who served with Moore. Investigative stories have been published weekly since April and will continue for several more weeks.

RELATED | Analysis: Moore’s problem isn’t the media. It’s his record.

Sullins, who served for more than 30 years in uniform, said that understanding Moore’s records requires military experience and knowledge of the awards process.

To really understand Governor Moore’s military records, or any veteran’s military records, you need a certain level of expertise,” he said.

Sullins has led soldiers, held command and staff roles across multiple levels of the military and has investigated retroactive awards — like the Bronze Star Medal that Moore received in late 2024.

His deep dive into public records and fact-checking stemmed from the governor’s abrupt award of a Bronze Star decades after he had claimed he earned it, Sullins said.

FOX45 News first reported in 2022 that Moore had inaccurately claimed the military honor in his application for a White House Fellowship before his run for governor — something Moore initially denied and blasted as a smear campaign and later described as an “honest mistake.”

“We originally started out looking for anything related to the Bronze Star award in 2006 that he allegedly received in Afghanistan, or should have received and didn’t,” Sullins said.

The Bronze Star controversy resurfaced in 2024 after the New York Times reported on the issue.

ALSO READ | ‘They shouldn’t be’: Moore dodges question on poll concerns due to dishonesty, leadership

Moore said at the time that he included the award in a 2006 White House Fellowship application after being advised by a senior officer that it had been approved, though in an August 2024 press release, Moore acknowledged that he was disappointed to learn, before leaving Afghanistan, that he had not received the Bronze Star.

The medal was ultimately awarded to Moore in December 2024, nearly 18 years after his deployment.

Sullins said his analysis expanded beyond the medal to broader claims Moore has made about combat, training, leading soldiers and his time purportedly in harm’s way.

We wanted to validate all of that,” Sullins said. “So we were looking for any records that could basically support or validate any of those things.”

According to Sullins, Spotlight filed four separate FOIA requests with the Army. None, he said, has been fully completed. The Army has released about 41 pages of documents to Spotlight while withholding records in each request. Spotlight is considering litigation against the Army to force the release of some documents.

Moore’s office has separately released one record to Spotlight.

In March, Spotlight on Maryland pressed the governor at an unrelated event in Hagerstown to publicly release all records the newsroom had requested.

We continue to show transparency on everything and all things,” Moore said in March.

When asked why his office had released fewer records than other public figures who have faced scrutiny over their military records, Moore spokesman Ammar Moussa said the governor’s team was in “active negotiations” with Spotlight on Maryland over the records.

“We will come back to you with those records,” Moussa said.

Spotlight on Maryland does not negotiate for public records or for disclosure in the public interest. The dispute has since widened beyond the original reporting.

RELATED | As Wes Moore demands transparency, his own records remain hidden

In response to questions Monday about Moore’s recent military record disclosure to a small local online-only news outlet, the governor’s office did not answer the substance of Spotlight on Maryland’s questions, including whether Moore would release his records publicly. Instead, a spokesperson responded with multiple questions about David Smith, co-owner of The Baltimore Sun and the executive chairman of Sinclair, Inc., the parent company of FOX45 News.

Moore has repeatedly defended his record, saying he is proud of his service and the soldiers he served with.

But a central question of transparency remains unresolved. Why hasn’t the governor released his full military personnel file to the public?

Meanwhile, two veterans and GOP gubernatorial candidates, Ed Hale and John Myrick, have authorized the release of their full military records.

Sullins said full disclosure would end the dispute.

“It would put everything to rest,” he said. “There is a story, an untold story, and we don’t know all of the elements of that untold story because he will not be transparent and forthright.”

Do you have any tips or information related to this story? Send news tips to gmcollins@sbgtv.com or contact Spotlight on Maryland’s hotline at (410) 467-4670.

Follow Gary Collins on X and Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.