ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Wes Moore is not shy about showing his appreciation for the quarter-zip sweater — the somewhat sporty, somewhat formal attire that seems to be making its way ever closer to some politicians’ hearts.
Moore is “governor quarter-zip,” he boasts in one Instagram post. He’s the “OG of quarter-zips,” he proclaims in another. Even the profile picture on his personal account shows him sporting a quarter-zip.
But U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the longtime South Carolina Democrat and Moore ally, disagrees.
Clyburn, a former House Whip, posted in a playful jab on social media last month that he, in fact, is the real OG of the quarter-zip.
In a recent interview with Capital News Service, Clyburn said that for more than a year, his team has told him that other Capitol Hill staffers were talking about his clothing choice.
“I didn’t know it was called a quarter-zip,” he said. “[Moore’s] post came out, they came to me and said, ‘I think the governor must not be aware of your reputation here on the Hill about this quarter-zip’ — That’s when I found out it had a name.”
In Clyburn’s Instagram post, he pointed to evidence of his longer reign: photos of him wearing the sweaters during State of the Union addresses, at bill signings and on foreign visits. He even wore them in his youth, working for the South Carolina state government.
For Clyburn, it’s function over form.
He first started wearing the sweater years ago at a golf tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina. A particularly cold day led him to buy one at the clubhouse for an added layer. Now, he has more than a dozen.
Even Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, also a Democrat, had one on in a recent social media post.
Moore is a recent adoptee. In a post last November, he proclaimed that he was the “newest recruit to the quarter-zip movement.”
Still, Moore and Clyburn haven’t let the dispute over the sweater trend’s provenance come between them.
Moore attended Clyburn’s annual fish fry in South Carolina last year, alongside Minnesota Gov. and former Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz. The event is a who’s who of Democratic presidential hopefuls.
Clyburn, a Democratic kingmaker in South Carolina, and Moore have known each other since before the governor was elected in 2022, when he was still a non-profit executive. Clyburn threw his support behind Moore when he jumped into the race. Their friendship grew from there, Clyburn said.
“I think he has tremendous potential. But, you know, first things first, I think he needs to concentrate on getting reelected,” Clyburn said. “I think that higher office could very well be in his future. But that’s something that he’ll deal with when the time comes, and I’ll deal with it if he does.”