In the absence of polling data, campaign finance reports filed by candidates on May 27 may provide some idea of where each candidate stacks up in competitive races.
The District 6 House of Delegates race, where two open seats have drawn an impressive 19 total candidates into the fray, reveals disparate spending strategies. On the Republican side, Roger Zajdel’s $20,076.13 bank account is an anomaly since he claims he is funding his campaign himself, leaving Bob Long’s balance of $10,041.73 as the highest. $7,997.60 of that was raised in the past five months, putting him ahead of Ric Metzgar’s $5,879.50 and Robin Grammer’s $2,585 receipts. However, these three have been able to keep pace with each other spending-wise, with $4,620.44, $4,617.04 and $4,483.91 of spending, respectively. Conversely, Zajdel and Mitchell Toland have spent under $1,000 total, and Liberatore, Magee and Sparks have signed affidavits affirming they did not and plan not to accept or spend more than $1,000 total. Zajdel’s reluctance to spend in spite of his balance, nearly double that of the second place Long, perhaps suggests confidence in his chances and, thus, saving up for the general election fight. But it is unclear if a mere $965.60 in expenditures will get him the name recognition he needs.
The Democratic field varies more widely in terms of fundraising, expenditures and overall balance. Nick D’Adamo has an impressive $88,679.94 in his war chest, but outspent his receipts by $22,887.48, having only raised $5,300. Still, he has spent more this cycle than any other single candidate in the race. Things get complicated somewhat by the presence of two tickets, Our Team with Ed Crizer, Eric Washington and Mike Weir and Team Clean Sweep, Anna Pearce and Rick Roberts. Crizer, Washington and Weir combined have spent $18,090.83 and Pearce and Roberts, $13,539.51, a surprisingly small difference. Crizer’s individual campaign balance of $17,074.69 puts him in second place, followed by Weir with $9,572. Pearce is a distant third, with $4,802.81 remaining, but she has raised an impressive $11,820 for herself. Only Washington and Crizer outraised her. Larry Harmel and Jake Mohorovic are sitting in the middle of the pack with only $799.65 separating their bank totals. Mohorovic’s fundraising dwarfs Harmel’s, though, with the former delegate pulling in $8,935.49 to Harmel’s $909.72. Steven Brown and Johnathan Campbell signed affidavits.
Democrats in District 8 are pulling some huge numbers campaigning for the open seat created by redistricting. Bill Paulshock, Eric Bromwell and Renee Smith have formed a formidable ticket with state senator Kathy Klausmeier. Bromwell, the incumbent, leads the pack with a $36,843.83 bank account, of which $19,455 was raised since January. Challenger Harry Bhandari, a veteran campaigner and party activist, actually beat Bromwell’s fundraising totals, but only just, raking in $19,955.01. He is also closely matching Bromwell in terms of expenditures, but Bromwell has a $569.50 lead (hardly statistically significant). This aggressive buying could pay off on election day due to name recognition. But Bill Paulshock outspent both Bhandari and Bromwell significantly; his $11,170.35 worth of expenditures is almost double that of Bromwell. Renee Smith has a comparatively modest $7,463.44 war chest and has only spent $1,085.56, so she seems to be relying on the heavy lifting of the others on her ticket to carry her through. Debbie Schillinger has a deficit of $150 in her campaign coffers, so her chances are minimal.
Turning to County Council, Democratic primary candidates are all in contested races, giving their Republican counterparts an advantage in that they can save their money for the general election fight. Jason Samios-Uy of District 6 filed an affidavit , while District 7’s Todd Crandell has $7,079.28 at his disposal. Meanwhile, District 6 Councilwoman Cathy Bevins is in a surprisingly difficult primary fight. Her $205,726.98 war chest is nearly 10 times that of challenger Jeff Beard ($24,242.23), but Beard has raised more than double her $46,255 total this cycle, raking in $102,062. This has enabled him to spend $77,849.76 and have money to spare, compared to Bevins’ $17,689 expenditures. The Baltimore Sun reports that much of Beard’s receipts are from groups tied to developer David Cordish, owner of the Caroll Island Shopping Center, while Bevins’ appear more diverse.
The District 7 race is turning out to be quite expensive as well, with $67,569.16 total used across the five Democratic candidates. Leading the way in both expenditure and fundraising is Ron Yeatman, with $25,755.05 (almost 40 percent of all expenditures) to $32,255 worth of receipts. Buddy Staigerwald has raised $23,373 and spent just over $18,000, and Joe DiCara has spent $13,540.47 while bringing in $27,555. Roll-over money leaves DiCara with the largest bank balance going forward - $21,999.53 - trailed by Yeatman at $12,179.14. Staigerwald, Brian Weir and Scott Holupka all have war chests below $10,000.
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