More Fundraising Announcements: Schulz to Report More Than $1M in Bank, Campaign Says

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Schulz, who stepped down from her cabinet position in the Hogan administration earlier this month, will report more than $1 million in the bank on tomorrow’s filing deadline, her campaign announced.

A finance memo released Tuesday from Allison Meyers, finance director for the Kelly Schulz for Governor campaign, said the former Commerce secretary will report raising $1,522,000 over the past year. The campaign retains $1,050,000 cash on hand, according to the memo.

The amount, Meyers wrote, surpasses previous fundraising reports of a non-incumbent Republican in the governor’s race, “and puts us in a commanding financial position against any candidate that emerges from the Democratic primary.”

“In the upcoming months, we will continue to aggressively fundraise and build a formidable campaign to win in November,” Meyers wrote.

The official reporting deadline for annual fundraising reports is 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, but some campaigns have been announcing internal figures ahead of filing their official reports.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore reported last week that he pulled in an eye-popping $4.8 million, which represents the most money raised by a first-time candidate for governor in Maryland history at this point in an election cycle.

Three other Democratic candidates for governor, Tom Perez, John B. King Jr. and Jon Baron, each surpassed $2 million in money raised over the past several months, and State Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), who did not say how much money he raised over the past year, says he has more cash on hand than any other Democratic candidate — $3.3 million.

While the Schulz campaign was looking ahead to the general election, she does face two Republican challengers in her own party’s primary: Del. Daniel L. Cox (R-Frederick), who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and Robin Ficker, a perennial candidate campaigning to drop the state’s sales tax by two cents.

Neither Cox nor Ficker have publicly announced fundraising totals. None of the Republican candidates have officially filed reports with the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Schulz’s campaign said its fundraising success “is spurred by support from Marylanders in every corner of the state.”

“Unlike some candidates running in the Democratic primary, our donor base is almost exclusively comprised of Marylanders, with 95% of contributors coming from inside the state.”

Schulz stepped down as Commerce secretary on Jan. 11 to focus on her campaign. A former state delegate, she first joined the Hogan administration as secretary of Labor in 2015.

Glassman announces haul in comptroller bid

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, the lone Republican candidate for comptroller so far, is reporting $466,024 in his campaign account as of Jan. 12.

Glassman’s take is just a fraction of what the two Democratic candidates for comptroller are expected to show in their war chests, but they’ll be spending a substantial amount opposing each other. Bowie Mayor Timothy L. Adams, in a largely self-funded bid, reported $1,854,548 on hand, while the campaign of Del. Brooke E. Lierman (D-Baltimore City) said she would report about $1.73 million on hand. Lierman had not yet filed her campaign finance report as of Tuesday evening.

Building on a balance of $441,476 from last year, Glassman reported that he raised $193,030 in the past year and spent $168,482.

Several Baltimore-area development interests contributed to Glassman’s campaign, as did more than a dozen current and former Republican elected officials. Glassman’s biggest expenditures — almost $54,000 and $22,000, respectively — went to media production and polling.

Glassman is completing his second and final term as Harford County executive. He previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates and in the state Senate. He has deep experience in state and local government, a fact he is touting on the campaign trail.

Maryland last elected a Republican comptroller in 1898, but Glassman is considered the strongest GOP contender for the office in decades.

“During my trips across Maryland over the past year, voters have expressed to me that they are looking for a qualified and competent manager in the Comptroller’s Office,” Glassman said in a statement Tuesday. “They want a strong independent Comptroller who is not going to inject politics into fiscal management and oversight.”

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