Wes Moore on Tuesday became the second Democratic candidate for governor this week to claim raising $1 million since recently joining the race.
Moore, the best-selling author and military veteran who formally declared his candidacy on June 7, said on Twitter that he hit the million-dollar milestone after being on the campaign trail for just a week.
“I’m humbled by the groundswell of support we’ve seen from every corner of Maryland since we launched our campaign for Governor last week,” he wrote. “We have a lot of work to do to present our vision for economic opportunity and earn the support of families across Maryland.”
But Moore isn’t the only Democratic candidate to announce a recent million-dollar haul. Former U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. announced Monday that he had raised $1 million after being a candidate for less than two months. King said he had received contributions from all 24 Maryland jurisdictions.
“The reaction has been very positive and encouraging,” King said in a statement, adding that the fundraising will “allow us to build infrastructure to win, especially going against multiple millionaires and celebrities. Our ability to make sure folks hear our message will benefit immensely.”
King’s fundraising figure was first reported late Friday by The Washington Post.
State Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), who signaled his plans to run for governor two years ago and has been a statewide elected official since 2006, likely remains the fundraising leader for now among Democrats. He reported $2.2 million in his campaign war chest in mid-January.
Other declared Democratic candidates are former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, former Clinton administration official Jon Baron, former state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, former Obama administration official Ashwani Jain, and Baltimore tech entrepreneur Michael Rosenbaum. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez is also eyeing the race.
Baker, whose 2018 gubernatorial bid was handicapped to a degree by financial woes, sent out an email solicitation Tuesday telling supporters his campaign was $4,800 short of reaching its mid-month fundraising goal. Baker finished second in the 2018 primary.
In his email, Baker referenced a recent Maryland Matters article showing him narrowly ahead in a Democratic primary poll that was conducted in late May.
“While I’m thrilled to be leading in an early poll, having many voters still undecided means we have our work cut out for us,” he wrote. “That’s why we’ve set rigorous early fundraising goals and that’s why I’m asking for your help.”
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
Related Articles
VoteVets PAC has helped elect scores of Democratic military veterans to public offices, including Gov. Wes Moore (D) and state Attorney General Anthony Brown (D).
A report found that in Maryland, and nationwide, patients still struggle to access in-network behavioral health care compared to similar services in traditional medical and surgical settings.
Thirty seconds could have changed the fate of Robert Lewis and his road maintenance crew. Lewis and his coworkers had just arrived at a…
Creative Commons Attribution