Govs. Kevin Stitt and Wes Moore say civility can win general elections but primaries promote partisanship

Politics NewsGovs. Kevin Stitt and Wes Moore say civility can win general elections but primaries promote partisanshipStitt and Moore both said social media contributes to negativity and polarization in politics and urged more in-person connections.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleWes Moore & Kevin Stitt say civility can win general elections, but primaries are the problem07:04Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 2, 2026, 4:51 PM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezGovs. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., and Wes Moore, D-Md., on Friday blamed partisan primaries for making politics more extreme and called for bringing back “dignity” in politics and government.Asked whether dignity is a quality that could win a presidential election, Stitt told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, “I would think so.” They were speaking during a moderated conversation with Moore and Dr. Tim Shriver at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Oklahoma City.“I think the pendulum is swinging,” the Oklahoma governor added. “Of course, you get to the general election, it wins. But the problem is, you got to get through the primaries.”Stitt argued that the most extreme candidate in a partisan primary is the one that tends to win, using himself and Moore as examples.“The danger to Moore is he’s going to get outflanked on his left. The danger is to Stitt is he gets outflanked on his right,” the Oklahoma governor said, adding later: “What’s amazing to me is we agree on 90% of the stuff.”Moore agreed with Stitt’s assertion that most politicians have the same goals, like improving education, infrastructure, healthcare and the economy.“I think that the vast majority of the people in this country, they do not define themselves as a Democrat or Republican first,” the Maryland governor said.“I just think that the people who want to center their time dividing us and center their time with the hyperbolic, hyperpolitical, you know, mantras of the day,...