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Hogan outpaces Alsobrooks in fundraising, while super PAC amasses more

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Hogan outpaces Alsobrooks in fundraising, while super PAC amasses more


Maryland’s Republican senate candidate Larry Hogan edged out his Democratic opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, in fundraising during this year’s second quarter, even as a super PAC has assembled millions more that could be put toward installing him in the Senate. The financial muscle behind Hogan could boost the former governor as he vies to flip a seat that has been blue for decades.

Hogan’s fundraising network raised $6.6 million between April 1 and June 30, outpacing Alsobrooks’s campaign by nearly $1 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings by the campaigns on Monday. A former governor who remained popular among Maryland voters after leaving office in 2023, Hogan had $3.3 million in cash on hand across his primary campaign committee and its joint fundraising partners.

“Our campaign is incredibly humbled by the support we’ve received across the state,” Hogan for Maryland spokeswoman Blake Kernen said in a statement. “Marylanders are fed up with politics as usual and are hungry for strong, independent leadership in Washington to put people over politics.”

The Alsobrooks campaign raised $5.7 million in total contributions across her fundraising network during the second quarter, with $3.7 million in cash on hand at June 30. The campaign said it received donations from every county in the state, and increased its pool of donors more than fivefold over the previous quarter.

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“We continue to build upon our grassroots movement because voters know I will fight for them and their families, because we all want the same things; for our freedoms to be protected, to feel safe in our communities, to have access to quality education, and a job that treats us with dignity and respect,” said Alsobrooks, executive of Maryland’s second-largest county, Prince George’s, in a statement.

The high-stakes matchup in deeply Democratic Maryland is one of a few expected to determine the balance of power in the Senate.

Hogan left the governor’s office with record-high job approval ratings among both Democrats and Republicans, and a national brand as a Donald Trump critic. He said he did not plan to travel to the Republican National Convention, which he hasn’t attended since before Trump’s 2016 nomination.

Alsobrooks has made a case to voters that regardless of what Hogan says, electing him to the Senate, where Democrats now hold a slim majority, could empower a Republican majority aligned with Trump’s agenda.

Hogan’s own fundraising haul could be eclipsed by a super PAC created days after the February launch of his Senate bid. The super PAC, called Maryland’s Future, has stockpiled more than $15 million. Super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on political activity, so long as they don’t coordinate with candidates they benefit.

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Maryland’s Future received an initial $10-million infusion from Republican megadonor Ken Griffin, who backed Nikki Haley in this year’s Republican presidential primary and remained resistant afterward to giving money to Trump, telling others he did not have plans to fall in line with the former president, according to people who spoke with him.

Between April and June, Maryland’s Future received additional big-dollar injections, including: $2 million from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of the investment firm Blackstone; $1 million from Craig J. Duchossois, a Chicago-based investor; and $150,000 from Harlan R. Crow, the Texas billionaire recently in the news for providing lavish vacations to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Maryland’s Future also received $1 million from Warren A. Stephens, a longtime Republican donor and investment banker who also has given to each of Hogan’s joint fundraising committees and his leadership PAC. Stephens was a major financial backer of efforts to stop Trump from being elected in 2016. Like Griffin, he backed Haley in the primary, but he has since shown support for Trump, with his name appearing among billionaire hosts of a fundraiser planned for the former president in April.

The super PAC lists its address as that of a Staples store in Annapolis. Its treasurer is an Alabama-based accountant, Craig Mareno, who was also listed in documents last year creating a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid. Reached by phone Tuesday, Mareno declined to comment. The Washington Post did not immediately get a response to a message sent to an email address listed for Maryland’s Future.

Nearly all of the super PAC’s funders are from out of state. But Michael D. Epstein, president of Willow Asset Management in Rockville, Md., gave $25,000. Last month, he retweeted a post on X by Republicans against Trump, noting the former president is a felon and saying it was embarrassing for him that Hogan rejected his support. Epstein could not be reached for comment.

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Several left-leaning political action committees have contributed to Alsobrooks’s campaign, including Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) group Common Ground PAC, which gave $10,000 in May after the primary. Emily’s List, a national group that supports Democratic abortion rights advocates women running for office, gave $5,000 to support Alsobrooks in May, and has given the campaign $10,000 total this election cycle.

Alsobrooks on Monday touted an “outpouring of support from people all across this state.” Of the total dollar figure for itemized donations reported by her campaign network, 54 percent came from contributors inside the state, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission data. Of Hogan’s itemized donation total, 41 percent came from inside the state, the analysis showed. (Campaigns are only required to record details for — or “itemize” — donations from individuals who have given at least $200.)

Paul Schwartzman contributed to this report.



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New York man sentenced to 5 years probation for cyberstalking 6 people in Maryland

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New York man sentenced to 5 years probation for cyberstalking 6 people in Maryland



A New York man was sentenced to five years of probation for cyberstalking six people in Maryland, according to FBI Baltimore officials. 

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Richard Michael Roe pleaded guilty in December 2025 to five counts of making harassing phone calls related to a woman he met on the dating app, Bumble, court documents show. 

He was also ordered to serve six months of home confinement and complete 500 hours of community service, FBI officials said. 

According to court documents, Roe planned an “extensive scheme” to harass and stalk victims. He met a woman online in November 2018. They met in person in January 2019, according to court documents. 

After the relationship ended, the victim reported that Roe stalked her on social media before it escalated to emails, prank calls and text messages. He used websites to generate the calls and messages, according to court documents. 

Roe also made calls to himself and submitted police reports to make it appear as though he was also being harassed, a move used by cyber criminals, FBI officials said. 

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According to court documents, the messages that Roe sent to the woman made her feel like she was being physically stalked near her home. She told officials that she spent more than $50,000 to defend and protect herself, saying she “feared for her life,” court documents show. 

FBI officials said Roe stalked five other people related to the woman, along with two businesses where she worked. 

He sent thousands of texts, phone calls and emails between December 2019 and January 2021 and attempted to gain access to the woman’s Apple, social media and online shopping accounts, according to court documents. 



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Maryland’s Wes Moore says he was singled out by White House, excluded from governors’ events

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Maryland’s Wes Moore says he was singled out by White House, excluded from governors’ events


Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore says the White House singled him out by excluding him from a couple of bipartisan events for the nation’s governors later this month.

The National Governors Association will be in Washington, D.C. for its annual meeting and dinner with the president from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21. According to Politico, and other reports, all Democratic governors have been disinvited from the meeting. Moore said the president is also excluding him from a separate dinner for governors and their spouses, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.   

The long-standing tradition is an opportunity for state and federal governments to engage in person on pressing issues across the nation.

Moore is the vice chair of the National Governors Association (NGA).

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“My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why it’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership,” Moore stated. “As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight, whether that was the intent or not.”

Moore asked why he was excluded

Moore was asked on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday if he knew why he was being excluded from the events.

Moore said he led a group of Democratic and Republican governors in a productive meeting last week at the White House over efforts to bring down energy costs, which is why his exclusion from the NGA events is puzzling.

“I’ve long-learned that I am trying not to get inside of the president’s psyche,” Moore said. “It’s not a good use of my time. it is  not lost on my that I am the only Black governor, and I find that to be particularly painful considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that, not only have my peers asked me to lead. but also a place I know I belong in.”

According to Politico, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “These are White House events and the president can invite whomever he wants.”

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Not an official NGA event?

According to Moore, there is a commitment from the NGA that the events at the White House will not be official NGA gatherings.

“If the president wants to have a black-tie dinner with his friends on that night, that is fine, it will not be an NGA event,” Moore said. “This is a bipartisan organization where Democratic and Republican governors come together to work on addressing the needs of our people.

Moore added, “We know that in this time, the president cannot use this time to divide our organization.”

Politico obtained an email from the NGA confirming that the White House meeting will no longer be an association event.

“No NGA resources will be used to support transportation for this activity,” the email read.

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Moore, Trump at odds

Gov. Moore and President Trump have had public spats, including over Baltimore’s crime and funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in 2024.

“I promised the people of my state I will work with anybody but will bow down to nobody,” Moore said. “And I guess the President doesn’t like that.”

In August 2025, Mr. Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore to combat crime, which garnered pushback from city and state leaders.

At the time, Mr. Trump called Baltimore a “hellhole.”

“Chicago is a hellhole right now, Baltimore is a hellhole right now,” Mr. Trump said. “We have a right to do it because I have an obligation to do it to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore.”

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The president also said that Baltimore was “so far gone.”

The White House at the time also shared an article by U.S. News and World Report that ranked Baltimore as the fourth most dangerous city in the country, behind St. Louis, Oakland, and Memphis.

Moore invited the president to Baltimore for a public safety walk on a day and time of his choosing.

The president responded by telling Moore to “clean up this crime disaster” before he considers coming to Baltimore.

“As he stated in his letter, the Governor welcomes a conversation about public safety that builds upon the progress of our current strategy, which has reduced violence and brought homicides in Baltimore to levels not seen in 50 years,” the governor’s office stated. “We know there is more work to be done, and are committed to doing it.”

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The president posted on the social media platform Truth Social that Baltimore is “out of control” and “crime-ridden.”

“Stop talking and get to work, Wes,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”

Last August, during the back-and-forth, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???”

The next day, when a Forbes reporter asked Mr. Trump if his reconsideration of Key Bridge funding was contingent on Moore “cleaning up the streets,” the president said, “No, we were very generous to him on a bridge, you know, a boat ran into a bridge and the bridge came down like I’ve never seen.”  

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79-year-old man dies from injuries after burning possessions in barrel at Dundalk home

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79-year-old man dies from injuries after burning possessions in barrel at Dundalk home



A 79-year-old man has died from the injuries he received during a burn barrel fire in Dundalk, Maryland. 

It happened just after 4:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Tolson Avenue. Baltimore County Police and firefighters were called to the home for a welfare check on the victim. Police said that the victim was using the barrel to burn some of his personal papers and cardboard in the backyard. The victim then used gasoline to “accelerate the fire.” The fire then “erupted and involved him.”  

The victim was identified as Herminio Quinto. He passed later in the day on Saturday.

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The cause of the fire was ruled to be accidental by police due to the use of gasoline. 

Quinto’s death is the fifth fire-related death in Baltimore County in 2026. The Baltimore County government asks that anyone who is looking to open burn something should visit the Fire Marshal’s website for more information. Or if you are looking for a fire safety tip or to see if you are eligible for a free smoke alarm, call 410-887-1822. 



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