FEC reports: Trone holds steady, Mizeur tops $2.5M raised, incumbents have wide fundraising leads

U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), who has put more than $12.5 million into his reelection campaign, apparently did not feel the need to restock his campaign treasury over the past three months.

According to newly-released campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission over the weekend, Trone raised $244,046 between July 1 and Sept. 30 for his competitive rematch with state Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington). But that money came from donors; Trone, the wealthy owner of a national chain of liquor stores, did not put any of his own money into the campaign during this three-month period.

Still, Trone had an almost 14-1 cash-on-hand advantage over Parrott as of Sept. 30.

Trone has reported raising $13,029,661 for his campaign this election cycle — $12,552,000 from his own pocket. He has spent $7,070,544 so far on his reelection, including $4,798,002 in the past quarter of the year. Trone finished the reporting period with $6,206,371 in the bank.

Parrott actually outraised Trone between July 1 and Sept. 30, taking in $293,456. He spent $166,287 during the past three months and banked $471,926 on Sept. 30. Overall this election cycle, Parrott has raised $622,754 and spent $301,807.

Trone beat Parrott by 20 points in 2020, but the 6th District, which begins with a piece of Montgomery County and runs west to Garrett County, picked up a significant chunk of conservative territory in the last round of congressional redistricting. Combine that with some tough headwinds for Democrats nationally, and this year’s race should be considerably closer. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report calls the Trone-Parrott race the most competitive in the state, but currently rates it “likely Democratic.”

In another hard-fought Maryland congressional contest, former state Heather Mizeur (D) reported crossing the $2.5 million threshold in money raised in her quest to oust six-term Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, in the 1st District. Mizeur reported raising $545,405 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and spending $793,830. She had $854,830 on hand.

“This surge of support energizes our campaign in the homestretch and ensures that we can continue presenting voters the truth about Andy Harris’ extremism and my commitment to bringing everyone together to find bipartisan solutions,” Mizeur said in a statement.

But Harris still held a significant edge in cash-on-hand, banking $1,546,254 on Sept. 30 after raising $274,603 over the past three months and spending $578,199. Harris has reported raising $1,769,848 this election cycle and spending $1,302,630.

Ruppersberger v. Ambrose, Sarbanes v. Morgan

Republicans are running spirited campaigns against two veteran Democratic incumbents. But the incumbents had such a head start with their fundraising that they have robust advantages in cash on hand that could prove critical in the final weeks of the campaign.

In the 2nd District, GOP challenger Nicolee Ambrose, the Republican National Committeewoman for Maryland, outraised 10-term Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) between July 1 and Sept. 30, taking in $234,918 to the incumbent’s $174,490. But Ruppersberger was able to spend $216,649 over the same period compared to $192,607 for Ambrose. Ruppersberger had $1,344,068 in his campaign account on Sept. 30 while Ambrose reported $147,452.

In the 3rd District, former WBAL Radio personality Yuripzy Morgan (R) outraised eight-term Rep. John Sarbanes (D) over the past three months, $290,642 to $7,202. But Sarbanes has had a fat war chest for several election cycles and had $631,740 on hand as of Sept. 30 compared to $185,734 for Morgan.

Both Democratic incumbents are favored to win again, but their challengers are making them sweat a little.

Less competitive races

The rest of the congressional races in the state don’t appear to be remotely close. The Democrats are overwhelming favorites to win the seats, and the fundraising in those races reflect the imbalance.

In the open-seat 4th District race, Democrat Glenn Ivey, the former Prince George’s County state’s attorney, had $110,486 in his campaign account on Sept. 30 after raising $442,467 in the previous three months. Ivey has raised $1,703,454 for the campaign overall, including a $150,000 loan from his own pocket. The Republican, Jeff Warner, a minister, raised $12,819 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and reported $25,859 in the bank.

In the 5th District, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D) raised $569,551 over the past three months and reported $928,232 in the bank. Hoyer spent $913,849 during this period, with a significant chunk of his money going to some of his most vulnerable Democratic colleagues in the House. His Republican challenger, Chris Palombi, a website programmer, raised $18,047 during the quarter and finished with $11,393 in the bank.

In the 7th District, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D) finished September with $509,104 in his war chest. His Republican challenger, Scott Collier, did not report any fundraising activity.

In the 8th District, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D), who has become a fundraising powerhouse since he led the second impeachment against former President Trump, raised $771,111 in the past three months and finished the reporting period with $3,033,907 on hand. He spent $517,804 in the third quarter of this year, much of it distributed to Democratic colleagues. Raskin has raised $4,293,072 this election cycle.

Raskin’s Republican challenger, Gregory Coll, raised $2,195 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and reported $3,267 on hand.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is seeking a second term, raised $465,975 over the past three months and finished September with $2,286,105 in the bank. He has reported spending $7,045,637 this election cycle.

Van Hollen’s Republican opponent, frequent candidate Chris Chaffee, reported no fundraising activity.

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