2024-01-17 19:59:00
The latest batch of Baltimore City campaign finance reports trickled in Wednesday, and provide some insight into this spring’s Democratic mayoral primary. First-term Mayor Brandon Scott is facing former mayor Sheila Dixon, businessman Bob Wallace, and several other candidates in a Democratic primary race that all signs suggest will be competitive.
Dixon raised $523,000 in 2023, a healthy jump from her reporting this time last year, which showed she had just $5,000 on hand. Bob Wallace reported having $230,000 — more than $200,000 of that sum comes from a self-loan.
Money isn’t everything, but in campaigns donations translate directly to time, resources, and how many televisions advertisements reach.
The next round of pre-primary campaign finance reports are due on April 4 and will encompass mid-January to early April. Another round will be due on May 3.
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The primary is May 14. In deep-blue Baltimore, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 10-to-1, winning in the primary is tantamount to winning in November.
Brandon Scott
This time last year, Scott reported having nearly $451,000 on hand. As of 2:30 p.m., his latest campaign finance data was not yet available.
Sheila Dixon
Dixon raised $523,000 in 2023 — a solid figure for a challenger to an incumbent. Her campaign has $370,000 on hand.
Notable donors include Alex and Eric Smith, the brothers who run Atlas Restaurant Group, each donated $6,000 to Dixon. Their company also gave $6,000. So did their father Dr. Frederick Smith, a vice president at Sinclair, Inc., which owns and operates WBFF Fox45.
Members of the Luetkemeyer family also donated the maximum individual contributions. Jean Prema, Annie Luetkemeyer, Mary Luetkemeyer and actress Julie Bowen each donated $6,000. All of the women but Prema live in California; the family has strong Maryland political ties.
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She also netted campaign transfers from a few fellow politicians: former comptroller Joan Pratt sent her $1,000; former mayor Jack Young sent her $2,000; Councilman Eric Costello sent her $6,000; former Baltimore City Sheriff John W. Anderson sent her $1,500; and Del. Dan Morhaim sent her $250.
Dixon’s expenditures spent $43,500 on a poll from Hart Research Associates, Inc., ran by pollster Fred Yang. The campaign also sent about $47,100 to fundraising firm Rice Consulting.
In a statement, Dixon campaign spokesman Gabriel Ortis said that 321 of more than 600 individual donors were first-time contributors. The average donation was $679.
The Sheila Dixon Super PAC
The Better Baltimore PAC was formed by members of the fundraising group Adeo Advocacy in August, before Dixon had officially declared her candidacy.
As of 2:30 p.m., PAC campaign finance data was not yet available.
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Bob Wallace
The businessman, originally from Cherry Hill, ran as an independent in the 2020 mayoral general election. This spring he’ll appear on city ballots as a Democrat, hoping to appeal to voters who aren’t keen on Scott or Dixon. This time last year, Wallace reported having $13,181 in cash.
Since then, Wallace has raised $47,966 and loaned himself $202,685. He reported having about $230,000 on hand.
David Warnock, a venture capitalist who ran in 2016 as a largely self-financed Democratic mayoral candidate, donated $250 to Wallace. Patrick Russell, the owner of Slàinte Irish Pub in Fells Point, donated $1,000.
Wallace loaned himself about $300,000 during the 2020 election. His wife, Carolyn Green, loaned him $50,000.
This article will be updated.
Emily Sullivan covers Baltimore City Hall. She joined the Banner after three years at WYPR, where she won multiple awards for her radio stories on city politics and culture. She previously reported for NPR’s national airwaves, focusing on business news and breaking news.
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