When Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) took the stage at the annual Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday night, he mockingly made mention of the thing Democrats have been buzzing about for months: his presidential ambitions.

“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.”

The comment, made at a dinner where the motto is “singe not burn” and journalists mingle with lawmakers from both parties, got a rousing reaction from Democrats.

Moore’s political prospects have only gained steam in the party in recent months, as Democrats desperately try to find someone to lead them out of the wilderness, to save them.

Lately, the 46-year-old’s name is among the first to come up in conversation.

“Wes Moore is the Captain America of Democratic politics,” said Jamal Simmons, a prominent party strategist who worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris. “He’s a veteran, an athlete and a Rhodes Scholar who still connects with everyday people.

“He’s the best of us but doesn’t act like he’s better than any of us,” Simmons said.

As they seek to rebuild — and in some ways, reinvent — their party, Democrats have been testing the waters on a........

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