Democrats turn to college football star in search for 'next Obama' as party's popularity plummets

Democrats are searching for their party's next star as their popularity plummets against President Donald Trump and his MAGA faithful.

A top name on that list is Wes Moore, the 46-year-old governor of Maryland.

John Ronquillo, the director of the Institute for Public Leadership and a professor at the University of Maryland, said Moore could be on the same path as Barack Obama - rising rapidly through the political ranks to ascend to the White House.

'While I want to be careful with comparisons — Barack Obama is Barack Obama and Wes Moore is Wes Moore — there's no denying that they've both had a meteoric ascent to political prominence,' Ronquillo told The Hill newspaper.

Obama endorsed Moore's bid for governor and cut a campaign ad for him. 

Moore's ascendency comes as polls show voters are infuriated with the current Democratic leadership. Recent polls from NBC News and CNN showed the party is at its lowest approval rating ever: 27 percent and 29 percent, respectively. 

Now they are looking at new leadership. 

Another name being floated is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has tipped his toe in the presidential waters, launching a podcast where he talks with conservatives at areas they have in common.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are also being eyed for the power of their swing states. 

But Moore's resume makes him a strong contender.

His grandparents were immigrants, his father died when he was three and he was raised by his single mother, who straightened him out when he turned to petty crime as a teenager, sending him to military school

Moore, whose speaking style on the campaign trail is similar to Obama's, has told the story of how one of his earliest memories is watching his father die in front of him from acute epiglottitis, a treatable condition that emergency room doctors had overlooked. 

'He died because he didn't get the health care he needed,' Moore said.

His mother moved him and his sisters from their home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. to the Bronx, to live with her parents.

Moore graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy and went on to become a college football star, and a Rhodes scholar. He served in the Army, doing time in Afghanistan. 

He and his wife Dawn married while he was on leave from the Army, eloping to Las Vegas where their ceremony was performed by an Elvis impersonator. They have two children.

His memoir, 'The Other Wes Moore,' was a New York Times bestseller. He was CEO of a major anti-poverty nonprofit, the Robin Hood Foundation.

Moore is the first black governor of Maryland. Oprah Winfrey spoke at his inauguration, which was also attended by Chelsea Clinton.

Moore has raised his national profile, appearing at economic conferences and going on the Sunday morning political shows. 

And he was thrust into the international spotlight when a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March of last year.

'We are Maryland tough, and Baltimore strong,' Moore said the morning after the bridge collapse. The phrase caught on.

His time in the spotlight has drawn criticism from some in his state.

'@GovWesMoore is busy running for president while ignoring Maryland,' Delegate Mark Fisher, a Republican, wrote on social media.

Moore has laughed off talk of his ambitions, making a joke about it at the annual Gridiron dinner, which is a gathering of influential members of the media and top political figures. 

'If I actually wanted to be president, I wouldn't do any of this,' Moore said. 'Instead, I would take my case directly to the people who are in charge of our democracy: the Kremlin.' 

But the fact that he was at a posh, inside-Washington dinner just fueled chatter about his ambitions.

Many Democrats feel that the current party leadership is just standing aside and watching as Trump and Elon Musk dismantle the federal government and empower the executive branch beyond its intended means.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer sparked fury and had to cancel his book tour when his party turned on him after he helped Republicans in Congress pass Trump's budget.

They are looking for a new face. 

Moore still doesn't directly answer questions about his plans for the 2028 presidential campaign. 

When the Washington Post asked him about his deeper ambitions, he said: 'For as long as I'm in this seat and as long as I'm breathing, we are going to do everything we can do to make sure that we are ending child poverty.'

Moore, in the meantime, is working to keep Maryland's economy flowing. The state is heavily populated by federal workers, who the Trump administration are firing. 

Maryland is one of the states legally challenging Trump's decision to fire government workers.

Moore met with Trump in the early days of his second term but came out of that sit-down saying he cannot work with the president. He urged Maryland and other states to stand against Trump.

'I come back from Washington with no illusion about what kind of partnership that this administration is trying to forge with our nation's governors,' Moore said. 

'And … with a clear understanding that if this first month is any indication of where things are going, we as lawmakers had better take this moment seriously and make sure that we're moving forward.'

But as Moore looks to what's next, Matthew Crenson, a longtime Maryland politics observer and professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has some words of caution.

'It's easy to oversell somebody like that, because from the outside, they look perfect. Once they get in office, they have to face a lot of messy issues that will sort of spatter them with mud,' Crenson told NPR.

'So far, he hasn't faced any really devastating challenges until this, and I think this will be the test. We'll be able to see whether there's really steel behind that résume.'