Less than two weeks after staging two high-profile kickoff rallies, Gov. Wes Moore is already rearranging the top tier of his reelection operation. Ron Owens, who has run Moore's campaign since last summer, is slated to leave at the end of the week and will be replaced by Dylan Arant. The switch comes roughly six weeks before the June 23 Democratic primary, where Moore faces only a token challenge inside his own party.
According to WTOP, the campaign confirmed the leadership change and said Owens had been at the helm since last summer. WTOP also reported that the move follows Moore's early May rallies formally launching his reelection bid, and that Montgomery County physician Eric Felber is Moore's lone Democratic primary opponent.
Who’s in, Who’s Out
The Baltimore Banner reports that Owens is "stepping away," and quotes Moore spokesperson Carter Elliott IV saying, "His dedication, hard work and commitment to our mission to leave no one behind have helped build the strong foundation the campaign stands on today." The Banner notes that Owens previously worked on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2018 campaign and U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks' 2022 effort. It also reports that Arant has served as director of public policy and a senior adviser in Moore's State House office since February 2025 and earlier worked on Jeff Jackson's 2024 campaign.
What to Watch Before June 23
Moore's campaign heads into the sprint to primary day with roughly $8 million in its accounts, giving the operation room to hire, reorganize, and spend while the new leadership settles in, according to The Baltimore Banner. Election officials have already started mailing ballots, and early in-person voting opens June 11 ahead of the June 23 primary, which is expected to lock in the Democratic nomination. The next round of campaign finance reports will show how aggressively the Moore team is deploying its cash ahead of the general election.
Staff shakeups this close to a primary often amount to routine housekeeping rather than a full-blown alarm, but the campaign's brief explanation invites some curiosity about timing and priorities. Political observers will be eyeing Arant's early calls on messaging, field work, and advertising to see how he puts his stamp on the operation in the final weeks before voting.
