The governors sat beside each other, a study in political opposites. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, a conservative Republican in a red blazer. Wes Moore of Maryland, a progressive Democrat in a crisp suit. Yet, as they spoke at the National Governors Association summer meeting, their message was strikingly unified. The primary election system, they argued, is breaking American politics by rewarding extremism. This forces politicians to play to their party’s most activist wings, leaving dignity and common ground as casualties.
“I think the pendulum is swinging,” Stitt told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “Of course, you get to the general election, it wins. But the problem is you got to get through the primaries.” He framed the dilemma with blunt clarity. “The danger to Moore is he’s going to get outflanked on his left. The danger is to Stitt is he gets outflanked on the right.” The result, both men suggested, is a political arena where performance often trumps governance.
What makes their joint critique so compelling is the lived experience behind it. Stitt, who faced primary challenges from his right, and Moore, who navigated a crowded Democratic primary, understand the pressures firsthand. Stitt noted the irony of their shared stage. “What’s amazing to me is we agree on 90% of the stuff,” he said. Moore concurred, stating that most elected officials share core goals: improving schools, fixing roads, and fostering economic opportunity.
- Improving schools
- Fixing roads
- Fostering economic opportunity
- Bridging political divides
- Encouraging civic engagement
- Promoting in-person connections
“I think that the vast majority of the people in this country, they do not define themselves as a Democrat or Republican first,” Moore observed. He warned that those who trade in division will find themselves isolated. “They will very quickly find themselves on an island by themselves.”
When asked for a personal model of dignity, Moore didn’t name a contemporary politician. He reached back through his family history to Prince Ames, a Black and Indigenous soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War. “He was fighting for a country that did not even see him as a full human being then,” Moore said. “He was willing to sacrifice for the hope of its future.” It was a poignant reminder that belief in a country’s potential, despite its flaws, is a non-partisan virtue.
Both governors pointed a finger at a modern accelerant of discord: social media. Stitt admitted he avoids reading about himself on these platforms, calling the vitriol a “societal problem.” Moore connected the digital landscape directly to political health, detailing Maryland’s legislative efforts to ban phones in K-12 schools and prohibit AI-generated content in political ads. His concern cuts to the heart of civic engagement. “They’re not looking to be educated. They’re looking to be validated,” he said of citizens trapped in algorithmically-sealed information bubbles.
| Issues Addressed | Stitt’s Perspective | Moore’s Perspective |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Elections | Challenges from the right | Challenges from the left |
| Core Goals | Common interests | Shared objectives |
| Social Media | Societal problem | Concern for civic engagement |
| Dignity in Politics | Focus on governance | Belief in potential |
| Human-scale Politics | In-person connections | Educating citizens |
| Future Outlook | Need for compromise | Isolation of divisive politics |
Their conversation, at its core, was a call for a return to human-scale politics. They urged more in-person connection, a harder search for common facts, and a political process that doesn’t punish compromise. In a room full of the nation’s state executives, their bipartisan appeal stood out. It was a quiet argument that governance begins not with conquering the primary, but with remembering the 90% you share with the person sitting beside you. The question they left hanging was whether a system designed for battle can be retooled for building.
