Maryland

New campaign finance reports show last-minute spending on Md. elections – Maryland Matters

Published

1 year ago

December 6, 2024

New campaign finance reports show last-minute spending on Md. elections – Maryland Matters

A political action committee affiliated with Gov. Wes Moore (D) spent $315,000 in the days leading up to this year’s election on ads that aimed to defeat his predecessor, Republican Larry Hogan, as Hogan vied to win a U.S. Senate seat.

Given the tens of millions of dollars spent on the election between Hogan and the victorious Democrat, Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks, the investment by Unity First PAC, which was set up earlier this year by Democratic operatives affiliated with Moore, was undeniably modest.

But new campaign finance reports filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission provide the latest glimpse into the early expenditures of Unity First PAC — which is likely to become the primary vehicle to elevate Moore’s national political profile, even as he prepares for a difficult General Assembly session and his 2026 reelection campaign. The finance reports cover the period Oct. 17-Nov. 25.

Unity First PAC, which launched in the summer, is being run by Ned Miller, Moore’s 2022 campaign manager, and was focused on electing Alsobrooks for Senate and Rep.-elect April McClain Delaney (D-6th) in the state’s most competitive congressional elections.

Through Nov. 25, three weeks after Election Day, Unity First reported raising $743,000 since its creation, mostly from large donors, and spending $690,200. But almost two-thirds of that spending, $402,170, took place in the days leading up to the election, most of it on ads attacking Hogan and former Del. Neil C. Parrott (R), Delaney’s opponent.

In all, the PAC spent $415,000 on anti-Hogan advertising and $75,000 on digital ads attacking Parrott.

The PAC raised $35,000 from two national unions just before the election — $25,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and $10,000 from the International Association of Firefighters. It reported $52,799 on hand as of Nov. 25 — an amount that Moore and his associates will no doubt look to build on as he considers whether to wade into the nascent 2028 White House campaign.

Unity First PAC should sustain Moore’s political activities outside Maryland, while his state campaign fund will nurture his 2026 reelection bid. That committee will report its activities for 2024 in mid-January.

The Alsobrooks-Hogan general election was the most expensive in Maryland history. Alsobrooks’ principal campaign committee reported spending $30.3 million through Nov. 25, and had $288,156 in its war chest that day. Even after being elected on Nov. 5, Alsobrooks reported raising $92,886.

Hogan, who is expected to weigh a possible challenge to Moore in 2026, spent more than $11.5 million from his principal campaign committee, which retained $403,137 as of Nov. 25. Hogan reported loaning his campaign $500,000 on Oct. 31, less than a week before Election Day.

But both candidates had joint campaign funds and also benefited from millions of dollars in spending from outside groups. The most striking was $30.6 million from a Republican PAC called Maryland’s Future, which was largely funded from well-known GOP donors from across the country. The PAC funded an aggressive array of ads attacking Alsobrooks across multiple platforms, but she still wound up winning by almost 12 points.

Meanwhile, in the 6th District, the latest campaign finance reports show that Delaney continued to fund her campaign through the day before the election, when she dropped $148,000 of her own money into the race. In all, Delaney invested more than $3.8 million of her own money in the race, including almost $1.3 million between Oct. 17 and Nov. 4.

Delaney, a lawyer and former U.S. Commerce Department official, spent almost $5.8 million on her campaign and reported $93,033 in her campaign account as of Nov. 25. In the most competitive House district in the state, she could be targeted by Republicans in 2026, though with Donald Trump entering the White House in January, the next midterm election is, at this early stage, expected to favor Democrats.

Parrott, who lost three straight congressional races in the 6th District, spent over $1.1 million on the campaign, and had just $2,914 in the bank on Nov. 25.

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Maryland

Maryland, California men plead guilty in auto-repair shop drug trafficking case

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55 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Maryland, California men plead guilty in auto-repair shop drug trafficking case

MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland man and his California accomplice both pled guilty to drug trafficking charges involving the concealment of drugs within auto parts at a repair shop, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

Authorities reported that Norville Clarke, 56, of Clarksburg, Maryland, and Daniel Cruz, 39, of Los Angeles, California, were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

In 2023, an investigation targeted a drug trafficking organization that was transporting and distributing large quantities of cocaine from California to Maryland.

The investigation began after police seized a parcel containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine that was mailed from Los Angeles with an intended delivery to Clarke’s auto-repair shop in District Heights, Maryland.

ALSO READ | Gwynn Oak man sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for passport fraud, ID theft

During the investigation, Cruz was linked to the narcotics in the parcel, as well as to its source, authorities reported.

In January 2024, postal inspectors, along with other investigators, identified a freight shipment from Los Angeles intended for delivery at Clarke’s auto-repair shop, and officials said surveillance footage showed Cruz dropping off that shipment at a shipping company in California.

After that, authorities observed Cruz traveling to Maryland to track the shipment’s delivery.

Cruz and Clarke were then seen by investigators meeting at the auto-repair shop several days after the shipment occurred.

Investigators tracked the fright shipment to Dulles, Virginia, where authorities executed a search warrant and recovered two automobile transmissions inside, as well as 20 one-kilogram bricks secreted in both transmissions.

Officials reported that laboratory forensic tests confirmed that the bricks were over 16 kilograms of cocaine.

A search warrant was then also executed for Clarke’s District Heights auto-repair shop, Clarke’s Clarksburg residence, and Cruz’s hotel room in Capitol Heights, Maryland.

ALSO READ | Baltimore man sentenced to over 10 years for gun, ammunition possession as felon

At the auto repair shop, officials recovered 502.4 grams of cocaine, and then at Clarke’s residence, officers found two-kilogram bricks of cocaine and $45,730 in cash.

Furthermore, investigators later found another nine historical freight shipments that resembled the original shipment containing cocaine, which Cruz sent to Clarke’s auto repair shop.

In plea agreements, officials said both defendants agreed to have been involved in possessing around 22 kilograms of cocaine in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy.

Both also face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum life in prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release

Cruz’s sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, at 1 p.m., and the sentencing for Clarke is scheduled for Friday, July 24, at 10 a.m.

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Maryland

‘Born to be resilient’; Maryland native living in Israel watches war unfold

Published

13 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Born to be resilient’; Maryland native living in Israel watches war unfold

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — The State Department is securing military planes and charter flights for Americans to return home from the Middle East, officials announced Tuesday.

More than 9,000 people have left over the past few days, including 3,000 from Israel, according to a press release.

However, some Americans are staying put. That includes one young woman who is now living through her second war abroad.

ALSO READ | Middle East expert says uncertain future in Iran could be just as dangerous

“It’s a big decision to move across the world,” Rachel Cone said. She spoke with 7News’ Lianna Golden via Zoom from her home near Jerusalem.

The 28-year-old from Darnestown wasn’t afraid to leave the life she always knew.

“I grew up on a small farm in Montgomery County,” Cone said. “I spent my whole life there, the youngest of four kids, spent most of my life riding horses all around the DMV.”

Soon after college, she found her calling.

I decided to fulfill that dream, really live a Jewish life in the Jewish homeland.

Cone moved to Israel only six months before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. So when she heard the sirens go off on Saturday morning after the joint attack on Iran, waking up to an emergency alert on her phone, she knew what was coming next.

“It was saying like, hey, this is your warning. The attack is starting. Go make sure you’re in your safe space.”

She says the sirens sound very often.

“A lot, a lot. I don’t know how many; there’s been a lot,” Cone explained.

The DMV native said she’s learned to stay calm in chaos, even when others are afraid.

Today I had to go to the grocery store. It wasn’t like I was doing anything crazy. There’s a siren – OK, all of a sudden you have a bunch of people all together, a bunch of strangers, and yeah, some people panic. Some people are calm. Some stranger you’ve never met is telling everyone hey it’s okay, calm down… Living in Israel teaches you a lot about resilience. The people here who have grown up their whole life here, they’re just born to be resilient.

It’s a resilience she sends back home.

“When you live in a war zone, every parent is concerned, even more so when they’re not here. I’m always sending my family pictures of like, hey, I’m still going outside, like I’m still seeing the sun. I’m not locked inside, like it’s OK. Everything is OK,” Cone said.

As the conflict continues, she prays for harmony while uncertainty grows.

“We want to see people of every faith, obviously living the life that they wanna live and not succumbing to any sort of terror,” Cone said. “Let’s work towards peace, and let’s try to see that happen. This is a start for sure.”

Dylan Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, said American citizens should call 1-202-501-4444 for assistance with departure options.

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Maryland

Top 25 Maryland Boys High School Basketball State Rankings – March 3, 2026

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1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

With a chance to make history, Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the new No. 1 team in the High School on SI Maryland boys basketball Top 25 rankings.

The Cougars (30-10) will try for a second straight Baltimore Catholic League (BCL) Tournament championship Wednesday evening against Saint Frances Academy at Loyola University of Maryland. No team has won the BCL tourney and the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference titles in back-to-back seasons.

The MIAA, whose membership includes most of the private and parochial schools in the Baltimore metro area, started in 1995 following the dissolution of the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA). The MSA governed athletic competition for Baltimore public and private and parochial schools before the public schools left to join the Maryland state public athletic association (MPSSAA) in 1992.

Saint Frances, last week’s No. 1 which lost to Mount Carmel in the MIAA A final, is No. 2. DeMatha Catholic, Mount Saint Joseph and Springdale Prep round out the Top 5.

The second 5 includes Charles Herbert Flowers, Mount Zion Prep Academy, Bishop McNamara, Georgetown Prep and Archbishop Spalding. Lackey, which won the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference title last week, returns to poll at No. 21.

In addition to the BCL Tournament finale, the Maryland Private Schools State Tournament continues with the Division A semifinals Tuesday at DeMatha with Bishop McNamara taking on Springdale Prep, and DeMatha playing defending champ and No. 17 Clinton Grace Christian School.

No. 16 Takoma Academy plays Saint James School in a Division B semifinal. The state public playoffs continue with region semifinal and final competition.

Here’s this week’s High School on SI Maryland boys basketball Top 25:

Previous rank: No. 3

Record: 30-10

The Cougars defeated No. 4 Mount Saint Joseph, 59-40, in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament semifinals and Saint Mary’s in the quarterfinals (53-46) after a 69-67 overtime victory over then-No. 1 Saint Frances Academy in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A Conference final at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Previous rank: No. 1

Record: 35-7

The Panthers defeated then-No. 13 Archbishop Spalding, 61-58, in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament semifinals and Loyola Blakefield in the quarterfinals (74-57), after a loss to then-No. 3 Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the MIAA A Conference title game.

Previous rank: No. 2

Record: 22-9

The Stags defeated then-No. 9 Glenelg Country School, 63-50, in the Maryland Private School State Tournament Division A quarterfinals.

Previous rank: No. 4

Record: 31-7

The Gaels lost then-No. 3 Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament semifinals after a 80-66 win over Calvert Hall College in the quarterfinals.

SEASON COMPLETE – BALTIMORE CATHOLIC LEAGUE TOURNAMENT & MARYLAND INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION A CONFERENCE SEMIFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 6

Record: 26-5

The Lions defeated No. 7 Mount Zion Prep Academy, 67-63, in the Maryland Private School State Division A semifinals.

Previous rank: No. 8

Record: 21-0

The Jaguars defeated Largo, 62-57, in the Prince George’s County championship game.

Previous rank: No. 7

Record: 19-6

The Warriors lost to then-No. 6 Springdale Prep in the Maryland Private School State Division A quarterfinals

SEASON COMPLETE – MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT DIVISION A QUARTERFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 12

Record: 14-19

The Mustangs defeated then-No. 5 Georgetown Prep, 59-53, in the Maryland Private Schools State Division A quarterfinals and Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School in the opening round.

Previous rank: No. 5

Record: 17-9

The Little Hoyas lost to then-No. 12 Bishop McNamara in the Maryland Private School State Tournament Division A quarterfinals.

SEASON COMPLETE – INTERSTATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPION & MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT DIVISION A QUARTERFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 13

Record: 20-14

The Cavaliers lost to then-No. 1 Saint Frances Academy in the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament semifinals after a 74-53 win over then-No. 10 John Carroll School in the quarterfinals.

SEASON COMPLETE – BALTIMORE CATHOLIC LEAGUE TOURNAMENT & MARYLAND INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION A CONFERENCE SEMIFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 9

Record: 17-10

The Dragons lost to then-No. 2 DeMatha Catholic in the quarterfinals of the Maryland Private School State Division A tournament after an 81-77 opening round win over then-No. 15 Our Lady of Good Counsel.

SEASON COMPLETE – MARYLAND INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION A CONFERENCE SEMIFINALIST & MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT DIVISION A QUARTERFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 14

Record: 23-1

The Mustangs defeated Severn Run, 72-49, in the Maryland Class 4A East Region I semifinals.

Previous rank: No. 16

Record: 20-3

The Bengals defeated Springbrook, 85-66, in the Maryland Class 4A North Region II semifinals after beating Walt Whitman, 67-55, in the Montgomery County championship game.

Previous rank: No. 17

Record: 20-2

The Colonels defeated Rockville, 74-61, in the Maryland Class 3A West Region II semifinals.

Previous rank: No. 19

Record: 21-3

The Knights defeated Northeast, 73-61, in the Maryland Class 3A East Region I semifinals and Edmondson-Westside, 66-58, in the Baltimore City final.

Previous rank: No. 18

Record: 26-7

The Tigers defeated Hebrew Academy, 88-33, in the Maryland Private School State Division B quarterfinals.

Previous rank: No. 24

Record: 27-18

The Eagles defeated then-No. 11 Bullis School, 56-48, in the Maryland Private School State Division A quarterfinals.

Previous rank: No. 10

Record: 22-10

The Patriots lost to then-No. 13 Archbishop Spalding in the quarterfinals of the Baltimore Catholic League Tournament.

Previous rank: No. 13

Record: 20-10

The Bulldogs lost to then-No. 24 Clinton Grace Christian School in the Maryland Private Schools State Division A quarterfinals after defeating then-No. 22 Riverdale Baptist School in the first round.

SEASON COMPLETE – INTERSTATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SEMIFINALIST & MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 15

Record: 15-14

The Falcons lost to No. 9 Glenelg Country School in the opening round of the Maryland Private School State Tournament.

WASHINGTON CATHOLIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANT & MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT DIVISION A PARTIPICANT

Previous rank: Not ranked

Record: 20-3

The Chargers defeated Maurice J. McDonough, 61-46, in the Maryland Class 2A South Region II semifinals and then-No. 20 Great Mills, 62-59, in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC) championship game.

Previous rank: No. 20

Record: 21-3

The Hornets defeated Saint Charles, 70-54, in the Maryland Class 3A South Region II semifinals, and lost to Lackey in the SMAC title game.

Previous rank: No. 21

Record: 16-14

SEASON COMPLETE – METRO PRIVATE SCHOOL CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALIST

Previous rank: No. 22

Record: 15-11

The Crusaders lost to then-No. 11 Bullis School in the opening round of the Maryland Private School State tournament.

SEASON COMPLETE – METRO PRIVATE SCHOOL CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALIST & MARYLAND PRIVATE SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANT

Previous rank: No. 23

Record: 21-10

The Mustangs won the Maryland Christian School Tournament championship, defeating The Heritage Academy, 65-53, in the final, and King’s Christian Academy in the semifinals (65-59).

SEASON COMPLETE – MARYLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TOURNAMENT CHAMPION

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