Millions Already Raised, Spent On Handful Of Maryland Congressional Primaries

By Josh Kurtz, Maryland Matters

April 17, 2026

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn has raised more than $2 million in the crowded Democratic primary to replace long-serving U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th), while a free-spending businesswoman, Quincy Bareebe, has brought more than $2 million of her own to the fight.

They are among the more than two dozen candidates, including two young officeholders who have raised six figures each, who have already made the 5th District race an $8 million affair with more than two months to the primary, according to the latest figures from the Federal Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the financial arms race continues to escalate in the 6th District, where the former congressman is spending millions of his own money in a bid to oust his successor, who is also personally wealthy. And a highly regarded challenger to veteran Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) appears to be struggling in his attempts to catch up to the incumbent on the financial front.

Money isn’t everything in politics, of course. But the campaign finance reports released this week by the FEC help to define the contours of the most competitive primaries.

Primary day is June 23, with early voting set for June 11-18. Mail-in ballots should start hitting voters’ mailboxes by mid-May. In many of the state’s eight congressional districts, the primary winners are almost certain to win those seats in November.

The race to replace Hoyer, who is stepping down after 45 years in Congress, is especially befuddling, with a flood of Democrats seeking the seat.

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn at a news conference outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Sean Kitchen/The Keystone)

Dunn became a national figure in the pro-democracy movement after battling the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He raised several million dollars for an unsuccessful bid in the adjacent 3rd District two years ago. Dunn reported raising $2,073,664 since the beginning of the year. He spent $622,857 between Jan. 1 and March 31 – about $500,000 on digital ads alone – and finished the first quarter with $1,450,806 in his campaign account.

On social media, Dunn, who does not live in Hoyer’s district, noted that his war chest was built without collecting “a dollar” from corporate political action committees.

“The people of the 5th District are ready for a fighter, and I’m not going to let them down,” he said.

Dunn’s financial firepower was matched by Bareebe, a political self-funder who runs a home health care company.

She reported raising $2,321,860 in the first quarter of the year – $2,260,000 from her own pocket. That brings her self-funding total in this election cycle to $3,354,000 – for an overall take of $3,378,363.

Bareebe, who has already dropped several mail pieces to voters and is now airing ads on cable TV, reported spending $1,527,097 in the first three months of this year alone. She had $1,485,359 in the bank as of March 31.

Bareebe finished second to Hoyer in the 2024 Democratic primary, when she took 10% of the vote. She has upped her spending dramatically for the open-seat race.

“This district … deserves a representative who has actually lived the challenges that families here face every single day,” the candidate says in a recent digital ad. “Not a career politician. Not a national name. Somebody who built something here and will fight for it in Washington.”

Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) on the House of Delegates floor in January. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

Hoyer’s preferred successor, state Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s), reported raising $465,242 in the first three months of the year and had $401,080 in the bank on March 31 after spending $64,162.

Boafo’s war chest was boosted by donations from several of Hoyer’s congressional allies and former staffers and from State House lobbyists. Hoyer chipped in $4,000 from his campaign committee and $10,000 from AMERIPAC, his leadership PAC.

One big question is whether AIPAC, the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group, which has been very influential in recent Maryland congressional elections, gets involved in this primary on Boafo’s behalf. Hoyer has been one of AIPAC’s most reliable congressional allies through the years, and is no doubt urging AIPAC leaders to help his 31-year-old protege financially.in

Another younger candidate, 41-year-old Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay, pulled in $386,654 for her campaign in the first quarter, largely fueled by her allies in Prince George’s politics, including County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D). Blegay banked $251,081 on March 31, after spending $135,572 during the reporting period, mostly on signs, fliers and digital ads.

Boafo and Blegay are among the half-dozen current and former elected officials in the primary to replace Hoyer. The other candidates in that category had a decidedly more modest showing on the financial front.

Former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker (D), who is the best-known candidate in the field thanks to his long career in state and local politics, reported raising $202,645 since joining the race – a total supplemented by $30,500 from his own wallet. The campaign spent $32,956 in the first three months of the year and finished the quarter with $169,889 on hand.

Baker’s camp released an internal survey earlier this spring showing him leading the Democratic field. In the poll, conducted by the national Democratic firm GQR, Baker had 22%, while Dunn had 15% and 11% of those surveyed preferred Blegay. Everyone else was in single digits.

Prince George’s County Councilwoman Wala Blegay, at an October council meeting. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters)

The poll of 400 likely primary voters – the only publicly released survey in the race so far – was taken Feb. 26-March 1 and had a 4.9 percentage point margin of error. Several political professionals have wondered whether Baker can raise enough money in the weeks ahead to sustain that lead.

State Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles) took in $212,537 for his congressional campaign, but almost all of it – $200,000 – came from his own pocket. He reported $207,656 in the bank on March 31 after spending just $4,881 since the first of n the year.

State Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s) also supplemented her campaign with her own money. She reported raising $136,667 since Jan. 1, including $85,000 in self-funding. She finished March with $104,686 on hand, after spending $31,980.

Another elected Democrat seeking Hoyer’s seat, Charles County Commission President Reuben Collins, raised just $11,575 since the start of the year and finished March with a $11,548 war chest after spending $27.

Harry Jarin, a firefighter who had been running the most aggressive campaign against Hoyer before the veteran congressional leader decided in January to exit the race, opening the floodgates for many of the other candidates to get in. Jarin reported taking in $227,751 in the first quarter, including $200,000 of his own money. Jarin has overall raised $426,971 for the contest and had $278,395 on hand as of March 31.

Trone vs. McClain Delaney: Millions vs. millions

The increasingly brutal 6th District Democratic primary between freshman Rep. April McClain Delaney and her predecessor, former Rep. David Trone, is becoming increasingly expensive, too.

Trone – far and away the biggest self-funder in Maryland political history – dropped another $5 million of his own money into the race between Jan. 1 and March 31, bringing his investment in this contest to $10 million overall. He’s taken in $11,041,367 altogether so far, including the money from his own pocket.

Rep. April McClain Delany (D-6th) in the State House in January. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

Trone reported just over $4.3 million on hand as of March 31 after spending $4,360,421 in the first three months of the year. He spent more than a million dollars on ad placement and production this quarter, according to his campaign report, and $116,000 on polling.

Through his political career, Trone has steered millions of dollars to Hickman Analytics, a national Democratic polling firm, but he has ended that relationship and is now using Global Strategy Group and Impact Research, two other highly regarded Democratic shops.

McClain Delaney also opened her own wallet for her campaign coffers, supplying $1.5 million of the $1,810,396 the campaign pulled in since Jan. 1. That brought her investment this cycle to $2.2 million; overall, her campaign has raised $3,151,550.

In this quarter, the congresswoman raised $86,000 from political action committees and reported $68,009 in contributions that were bundled through AIPAC.

McClain Delaney’s campaign in the last three months reported spending $1,375,444, with several hundred thousand dollars going for media production and $78,000 going to two survey firms, Hart Research, which polls for several Maryland Democrats, and Jones Mandel.

McClain Delaney had $1,258,059 in the bank on March 31.

This week her campaign released a poll from Hart Research showing her leading Trone, 49% to 38%. The survey of 564 likely voters, conducted April 11-14, had a 4.2-point error margin.

Conway’s cash crunch

In the Baltimore-based 7th District, City Councilmember Mark Conway (D) has launched a generational-based challenge to longtime Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D), who launched his political career in 1979. But while Conway is a well-regarded lawmaker who is thought to have a bright political future, he is lagging on the fundraising front.

Conway reported raising $48,251 this quarter and $135,499 overall, and ended March with just $37,982 on hand after spending $52,307 in the past three months.

Mfume raised $85,153 since Jan. 1, and $306,965 this cycle, and had a $793,072 war chest on March 31.

Raskin’s riches

Maryland’s other congressional incumbents who are seeking reelection – Reps. Andy Harris (D-1st), Johnny Olszewski (D-2nd), Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), Glenn Ivey (D-4th) and Jamie Raskin (D-8th) are overwhelming favorites. But Raskin, a hero to national Democrats who is likely to become chair of the House Judiciary Committee should Democrats retake the House in the next Congress, continues to raise money at an astonishing pace.

Raskin raised $1,336,780 in the first three months of the year, and finished the reporting period with $6,946,922 in the bank. Overall, he has raised $5,847,402 this election cycle.

Raskin’s take outpaces that of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D), who isn’t up for reelection until 2028. Van Hollen reported raising $438,504 this quarter and banking $3,022,508.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: scrane@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and Twitter.