WASHINGTON — With four weeks left until the Maryland election, gubernatorial candidates are rallying until the finish and drawing down their campaign funds.
We Verified how much money candidates Dan Cox (R) and Wes Moore (D) have raised since the start of their campaigns, have spent and how much they have left in the bank.
Our researchers turned to campaign finance data from the Maryland State Board of Elections and spoke with Roger Hartley, dean of the college of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore for context.
According to the latest filing report, as of August 23, democrat Wes Moore had received $8,496,264.61 in total contributions since the beginning of his campaign. As of August 23, he had $1,301,599.42 at his disposal.
Compared to his competitor, Republican Dan Cox, who had received $810,120.48, less than a tenth of what Moore pulled in. As of the latest Board of Elections filing, Cox had $130,371.06 left in his war chest.
"Campaign finance—especially in the homestretch of [the] election—tells us a lot about a candidate," Hartley said.
Besides indicating how much money candidates have for advertising and reaching undecided voters, Hartley explained it can signal the fortitude of a campaign.
"So raising large amounts of money, to some is a proxy that they have a lot of support, and certainly support of wealthier individuals and smaller donors who accumulate," Hartley said. "It also shows the organization level of a campaign. If a campaign can raise a lot of money. It is a proxy for political scientists that that is a healthy campaign, a strong campaign, a well organized campaign."
As of the last campaign finance report, both Cox and Moore had just over 15 percent of their funds left.
"Wes Moore right now is going to look strong, and is going to probably attract even more money because those totals look so impressive," Hartley said. "Dan Cox might be able to get more money, at least by, by arguing that, 'wow, we simply don't have enough, and we need you to pitch in now here for this final stretch of the campaign.' But it's going to look probably less impressive to donors that he hasn't raised even over a million dollars up to this point."
We reached out to both campaigns for a statement, and have not received a response.
So how do these numbers compare to the past election?
In the August 2018 filing, incumbent Governor Larry Hogan had received $8,648,943.5. That’s just a tick over what Wes Moore has received so far.
As for the Democratic competitor in 2018, Ben Jealous had received $2,862,391.29 by that August filing.
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