Moore raises nearly $6 million, Cox $562,000 in closing stretch of Maryland governor race

In the race for governor of Maryland, Democrat Wes Moore continues to rack up massive donations for his campaign, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Moore and his running mate Aruna Miller raised nearly $6 million over a two-month reporting period from Aug. 23 to Oct. 23 — bringing the campaign’s total fundraising haul to more than $16 million since Moore launched his campaign in June 2021.

Moore and Miller reported having nearly $4 million in the bank heading into the final couple weeks of the campaign. Voting by mail and in-person voting is already under way, with traditional Election Day voting set for Nov. 8.

“This campaign has continued to work tirelessly throughout this entire election, and this report shows exactly what we’ve known all along: This team is scrappy and we’re ready to win,” campaign manager Ned Miller said in a statement Friday.

The Moore-Miller campaign’s money is spread across three accounts: one for Moore, one for Miller and a joint account known as a “slate” where they pool their money.

Over the two-month reporting period, Moore raised $5.25 million in his account and Miller raised $525,000 in her account.

Moore transferred $1.5 million to the slate account and spent another $1.2 million on salaries, campaign expenses and transfers to other candidates.

Almost all of the money that Miller raised was transferred to the slate account.

Most of the slate account’s spending — $1.66 million — is going toward advertising on TV, radio, online and in newspapers. The campaign is buying the ads through SKDK, a Washington, D.C.-based public relations and political consulting firm.

The slate account also spent $200,000 to pay canvassers, $6,500 on direct mail and about $36,000 on brochures, buttons and T-shirts.

Moore raised more than ten times as much as the Republican nominee, Dan Cox, who took in about $562,000 in contributions. Cox had just $159,000 in his bank account, according to his report that was filed just before the midnight deadline.

In a statement posted on social media, Cox said he achieved “strong” fundraising totals “without the international lobbyists, corporate conglomerates and special interests that all fund his opponent.” He estimates he’s raised a total of $1.3 million over the course of the campaign.

Cox’s reported expenses included $19,000 to Annapolis attorney Ed Hartman and $6,900 to Mississippi attorney Matt Wilson for an unsuccessful attempt to block the tabulation of mail ballots as they come in ahead of Election Day.

Cox spent thousands of dollars on yard signs, billboards and direct mail, but spent no money on radio, TV or online ads, according to his report.

The Cox campaign held a high-profile fundraising event during this reporting period at former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. It’s not clear exactly how much the campaign cleared from the event.

Cox reported paying $24,195.93 to the Mar-A-Lago Club, as well as more than $2,200 in airline flights for the event.

The basic entry fee to the event was $1,776, and Cox’s report shows 58 payments from donors in that amount for a total of about $103,000. Donors who raised at least $25,000 were allowed to take pictures with Cox and Trump; it’s unclear how many people reached that fundraising level. The Cox campaign has not answered questions about the fundraiser.

Cox’s lieutenant governor running mate, Gordana Schifanelli, reported raising about $25,000 and having about $8,000 in the bank.

Schifanelli’s expenses included more than $2,000 spent on hotels, meals and parking in Daytona Beach and Palm Beach.

Three other candidates are on the ballot for governor: David Lashar of the Libertarian Party, Nancy Wallace of the Green Party and David Harding of the Working Class Party.

Comptroller

In the election for comptroller, Democrat Brooke Lierman reported raising $761,000 since late August and had $484,000 in the bank heading into the final stretch of campaigning.

“This report highlights just how much Brooke’s message is resonating around the state,” Lierman’s campaign treasurer Candace Dodson-Reed said in a statement. “She has built a broad and bipartisan coalition of supporters and is in a strong position as we head into Election Day.”

During the two-month reporting period, Lierman spent about half a million dollars, with the biggest chunk of it going to media, including consulting fees, videos, TV ads and online ads.

Lierman is carrying a $40,000 loan she made to the campaign back in July.

Republican Barry Glassman has $287,000 on hand after raising about $42,000 in the reporting period. Glassman spent just shy of $200,000, almost all of it on consulting fees to a media company.

Glassman also has one outstanding loan, owing about $44,000 on a loan for a campaign vehicle.

Lierman is a lawyer and state delegate from Baltimore; Glassman is a former state lawmaker who is finishing his second term as Harford County executive.

Attorney General

The Democratic candidate for attorney general, Anthony Brown, reported having $491,000 in the bank.

Brown took in donations totaling more than half a million dollars, while keeping his spending to about $100,000 in the reporting period. Brown’s donations included $407,000 from individuals and companies, $78,000 from political action committees and more than $15,000 from the state Democratic Party.

Republican candidate Michael Peroutka reported having just shy of $12,000 in his account. Over the course of the campaign, Peroutka has loaned his campaign $70,000, including an infusion of $40,000 in this latest reporting period.

Brown is a congressman and former lieutenant governor who has worked as a lawyer in private practice and in the U.S. Army.

Peroutka served one term on the Anne Arundel County Council. A retired lawyer, Peroutka holds Christian-centric views of the law and formerly belonged to the League of the South, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “explicitly racist” with a goal of establishing “a Christian theocratic state.”

This article has been updated with additional information about Dan Cox’s fundraising.

pamela.wood@thebaltimorebanner.com