Too quiet

It’s been a strange week on the political front, because there hasn’t been a lot of news on the Republican side of things. And it may be because all hands are on deck soliciting money by Tuesday night to add to their first pre-primary report, then counting up the contributions and filling out the paperwork for a campaign finance report due right after Memorial Day.

So I found it quite the paradox that a campaign which has supposedly raised over $500,000 sent me an e-mail which told me:

As of (Thursday), our campaign to end the status quo in Annapolis is just $5,633 from reaching the matching funds threshold. When we hit that number, the money we have raised qualifies for the 12:1 match!

But wait – I thought the threshold was about $250,000. Naturally, there are some catches:

  • Only contributions from private individuals count, so money from business, other campaign entities, PACs, and LLCs are among those funds which cannot be used.
  • The limit on a matched donation is $250, so if someone donates $4,000 only the first $250 goes to the kitty.
  • Campaign loans do not count.

Having looked at Hogan’s first campaign statement, it was clear that many of his contributions didn’t meet those criteria, so he’s still short on attaining the match. That’s not to say that any of the other campaigns have made it either, so it essentially remains a two-man race insofar as fundraising goes. And neither of them can hold a candle to all the special interest money pouring into the Democrats’ coffers.

But when May 27 comes we’ll have a good idea where the campaigns sit financially as the campaign enters its final month. In the meantime, next week will probably be somewhat of a quiet week as people prepare for Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial beginning of summer. Surely the campaigns will be out there among the people too.