Maryland
Some more congressional fundraising nuggets from the 6th and 2nd districts – Maryland Matters
April McClain Delaney, one of 13 Democrats seeking the open 6th District congressional seat, buttressed a solid fundraising quarter with $550,000 of her own money, bringing the total her campaign collected in the first three months of the year to $839,302.
That’s just one of the nuggets that come from congressional candidates’ recent campaign finance reports, which were filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. The documents cover fundraising and spending activities between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Delaney, a former top official at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the wife of former Rep. John Delaney (D), who held the seat from 2013 to 2019, remains the top fundraiser — and spender — in the Democratic primary, helping to boost her profile in the sprawling district, which takes in part of Montgomery County and most of Western Maryland.
Two other Democrats, Del. Joe Vogel of Montgomery County and Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, continue to also raise money at a steady clip, with six-figure hauls of their own over the past three months. Another Democrat, attorney Peter Choharis, reported raising more than $103,000 since January, but that take included $25,000 from his own pocket.
In the Republican primary in the 6th District, which is expected to be Maryland’s most competitive district in the general election, two candidates took in more than six figures to start 2024, Navy veteran Tom Royals and former Del. Neil C. Parrott, the two-time GOP nominee. Another perceived frontrunner in the Republican scrum, former Del. Dan Cox, who was the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, was far behind on the fundraising front.
When Delaney joined the race for Congress, she was expected to dip into her personal fortune to help fund her campaign, but she purposely decided not to for her first fundraising report, in a bid to show her political strength. But that strategy has changed as the May 14 primary draws nearer.
Including the $550,000 of her own that she put in, Delaney’s take for the campaign overall is $1,375,859. She has spent $593,717.44 and finished March with $782,141.56 in the bank.
Delaney’s noteworthy donations this quarter included $10,000 from PAC to the Future, a political action committee controlled by former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), another $4,000 from Pelosi’s campaign committee, $3,300 from Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist, $2,000 from U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), and $2,500 from the National Auto Dealers. AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby, served as a conduit for $24,600 in contributions, according to Delaney’s campaign report.
Earlier this month, Delaney began airing her second ad of the campaign, focusing on technology and kids’ health.
“I worked in the Biden administration to expand broadband, and I helped build a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting kids online,” she says in the ad. “In Congress, I’ll work to reign in Big Tech, improve online security, and expand mental health services.”
Vogel, who has shown surprising strength during this campaign, used Delaney’s self-funding as an attack line this week.
“Potomac mega millionaire April McClain Delaney has finally shown her true colors,” he said. “McClain Delaney thinks she can buy her way to victory, but the voters in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District see right through her tactics, and know when candidates have deep connections rooted in the district and when they don’t.”
Vogel’s own report showed he raised $231,034.41 between Jan. 1 and March 31, and has collected $610,790.32 overall. This quarter’s take included $37,750 in PAC contributions. He finished March with $234,611 on hand, after spending $191,628.95 in the previous three months.
Martinez’s fundraising has also defied expectations. She raised $196,965.95 over the past three months for a total of $522,618.62 since she joined the race. She was sitting on $257,938.44 on March 31 after spending $45,489.93 in the previous three months.
Other than Choharis, who banked $96,002.13 on March 31, most of the other Democratic contenders have lagged behind on the fundraising front, which only goes to show that local and state politicians, however talented they may be, often have trouble scaling up to fund campaigns at the federal level. Here are a few examples:
- Former Obama administration official Ashwani Jain raised $48,729 in the beginning of the year and finished March with $68,982.67 on hand
- Del. Lesley J. Lopez (D-Montgomery) raised $44,545.96 and banked $28,126.04
- Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles raised $22,809 and finished March with $17,625.66 in the bank
Among Republicans in the 6th District, Royals led the way on fundraising, bringing in $172,827.51 in the first three months of the year and raising $465,762.52 overall. He finished March with $97,088.50 on hand after spending $171,127.21 over the prior three months.
“With so much on the line, we cannot afford to nominate candidates with a proven track record of losing,” said Royals’ campaign manager, Brendan Duffy. “That is why hardworking families across Maryland’s 6th District are increasingly rallying around former combat aviator Tom Royals.”
Parrott had the biggest campaign war chest at the end of March, with $125,495.54 in the bank after raising $141,918.52 between Jan. 1 and March 31. He has pulled in $293,467.78 so far this election cycle.
Mariela Roca, an Air Force veteran and medical logistics specialist, was next in fundraising for the quarter, pulling in $55,540.43. But she only had $20,253.84 in the bank at the end of March.
Chris Hyser, a retired police officer, finished the reporting period with $105,158.32 in the bank after raising $50,622.46 in the first quarter of 2024.
Cox, the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee with ties to former President Donald Trump, only raised $39,461.59 in the first quarter and has collected $110,466.54 overall. He finished March with $42,699.09 on hand.
Cox, in an email solicitation to supporters on Tuesday evening that was partially written in red, wrote, “We are still $15k short of where we need to be for the final push on media, mail and digital.”
Meanwhile, former Del. Brenda J. Thiam (R-Washington) raised $20,789.63 and finished March with $13,453.09 in the bank.
2nd District
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D), who is considered the top contender to replace retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D), also led on the fundraising front, by a wide margin.
He reported raising $729,435.48 in his first few months as a candidate, and had $499,396.62 on hand on March 31 after spending $230,038.86. Olszewski’s take included $41,046 from PACs.
“Having the backing of so many individuals from across the district shows the momentum behind our campaign and the grassroots strength of this movement,” the candidate said.
The Democratic primary in the 2nd District includes Del. Harry Bhandari of Baltimore County, who reported raising $135,515.22 and finished March with $67,674.55 in the bank.
The leading Republican candidate is radio host and MAGA provocateur Kimberly Klacik, who raised an astonishing $8 million when she ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 7th District in 2020. Her fundraising has gotten off to a considerably slower start so far. She reported raising $29,826.55, including $800 from her own pocket, and ended March with $8,687.55 in the bank.
Maryland
Mifepristone ruling could halt mailed abortion pills in ‘shield states’ like Maryland – WTOP News
Last Friday, May 1, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a 2023 U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that allowed mifepristone to be dispensed without an in-person visit with a physician.
This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Read the story at Maryland Matters.
Every month, an estimated 500-plus Marylanders receive abortion medication that was mailed to them after a telehealth medical visit, a convenient method for terminating unwanted pregnancies that has been growing since 2022.
But abortion advocates say a Supreme Court case reviewing mail access for mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen used for both medication abortions and miscarriage care, could threaten the ability of Marylanders to get abortion medication by mail.
“There’s often the misconception that we are safe in Maryland from these politically motivated attacks on abortion,” Lynn McCann-Yeh, executive director for the Abortion Fund of Maryland, said Tuesday. “This particular Supreme Court case is so concerning because it has nationwide implications on how mifepristone can be dispensed and prescribed if this court case moves forward.”
Last Friday, May 1, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a 2023 U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that allowed mifepristone to be dispensed without an in-person visit with a physician.
That decision briefly blocked health providers from sending the medication through the mail nationwide, creating chaos and confusion for abortion providers and patients in Maryland, according to Karen J. Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland.
But Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on the appellate court’s decision until May 11, giving both sides time to file briefs in the case — and allowing mifepristone to be sent over the mail for at least one more week.
“This is politically motivated and it’s a darn shame that our patients have to be concerned about this,” Nelson said. “The voters in the state of Maryland have demanded that reproductive health care be available in this state, and they codified it in the state constitution two Novembers ago.”
Anti-abortion organizations like the Maryland Family Institute agree that the court case has significant implications for reworking abortion policies across the United States and in Maryland.
Jonathan Alexandre, legislative counsel for the Maryland Family Institute, said the temporary stay by the Supreme Court was a “super-wise decision” to allow time to gather enough evidence and data to make the case that sending mifepristone through the mail is harmful.
“We don’t shy away from realizing the cataclysmic effect this will have on reorienting the entire nation’s laws when it comes to protecting life in the womb,” Alexandre said.
The court challenge was brought by the state of Louisiana, which argues that the FDA’s 2023 decision to no longer require in-person visits for mifepristone undermines its near-total ban on abortion, allowing providers from other states to send the medication into Louisiana through the mail.
Louisiana also claims that it paid $92,000 in Medicaid bills for two women who needed medical care due to complications related to mifepristone.
But the current lawsuit against mifepristone has nationwide implications and could threaten even Maryland residents from receiving the medication from a Maryland provider, even though abortions are legal in the state.
“While it was great that there was this kind of temporary reprieve … we know that the broader case is still unresolved,” McCann-Yeh said. “Telehealth medication abortion is an increasingly important way of accessing abortion care in the country.”
Abortion in the U.S. has become a patchwork of state policies since June 2022, when the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization largely overturned federal abortion protections and sent the issue back to legislatures.
Some states, such as Louisiana, have near-total bans for abortion services, while states like Maryland are known as “shield law” states that protect providers from prosecution for providing abortion care to residents in more-restrictive states.
Nationally, approximately 27% of abortions happen through telehealth services, according to 2025the data from the Society of Family Planning, a research and advocacy group that publishes an annual report called #WeCount. That’s up from just 5% nationwide in early 2022, before the Dobbs decision.
In Maryland, an average of 533 abortions a month took place through telehealth services from June 2024 through June 2025, according to most recent #WeCount data. An average of 2,729 abortions a month occurred in person at Maryland clinics during the same period.
Compare that to data from before the Dobbs decision, when 40 Marylanders received telehealth abortions in April 2022 and just 50 in May 2022.
While most abortions occur in clinics still, McCann-Yeh said the Supreme Court could block the ability to receive mifepristone in the mail, creating hurdles for Marylanders seeking abortion care.
“For a Maryland resident who may not be able to get to a clinic, this is a huge logistical hurdle,” she said. “You now have to travel to the clinic, which might be anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours away.
“If you are a parent or have disabilities, if you’re working to make ends meet and you’re concerned about costs – all of these create a lot of additional hassles that people in Maryland would have to go to get abortion care that’s otherwise protected and supported in their state,” McCann-Yeh said.
Meanwhile, in states with strict abortion bans, such as Louisiana or Maryland’s neighbor West Virginia, approximately 96% to 100% of abortions were acquired through telehealth services in 2025, according to the data.
Abortion advocates say some providers in Maryland will prescribe and send abortion medications like mifepristone through the mail to residents in other states who are unable to get them otherwise. It’s not clear how much mifepristone is sent out of Maryland into states with more restrictive abortion bans, but Alexandre says that the state’s lax telehealth requirements put women at risk.
“You have males buying this and forcing women to take it, or women will take it past the age of gestation that are safe for ingesting this pill,” Alexandre said. “What this law that Louisiana has passed, and ultimately what the court is going to review, is saying whether or not you should put these safety protocols in place to ensure that the dangers of this pill are fully addressed and that women are offered the protection that they need.”
Abortion providers like Nelson with Planned Parenthood are continuing to provide telehealth care to Marylanders, as she said the organization does not send mifepristone out of state.
But behind the scenes, staff with Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocacy groups are preparing for what may happen if the Supreme Court takes up the Louisiana case.
“We’re super glad that the recent stay does temporarily restore access to medication abortions by telehealth,” Nelson said, “But with the chaos and the confusion, with the back and forth between rulings does have an impact on those who are seeking sexual and reproductive health care.”
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — As Baltimore leaders celebrated a new law limiting city cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday, they also shared new accounts alleging federal agents have gone too far.
At a news conference the same day the mayor signed legislation restricting the city’s cooperation with ICE, City Councilman Zeke Cohen described what he said was a troubling incident outside his children’s school.
“ICE was behaving in ways that were unsafe, that caused stress, and trauma, and harm to our communities, so as a result we asked for increase school police presence,” Cohen said.
He added, “I think it’s incredibly ironic we need our own local school police to protect our kids and our families from the federal government.”
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From the floor of the council chambers last month, Councilwoman Odette Ramos described what she said was fear in the community and accused ICE of targeting people based on race.
“Let us call it what it is it’s racism and white supremacy,” Ramos said.
She added, “They wait in parking lots for anyone who is brown. They do not care if you’re a citizen or not, so I’m waiting for my turn obviously.”
Critics have questioned the stories from politicians.
Dr. Richard Vatz, a retired professor of rhetoric, called the city’s approach “utterly irresponsible leadership,” saying, “They ought to think, ‘Who am I helping, who am I hurting?’”
When FOX45 News pressed council members last month on whether they’d witnessed ICE breaking the law in Baltimore, Ramos said, “I have not personally, however, I know that we are now seeing an escalation.”
After Cohen’s account about what happened outside his children’s school, an email was sent to the council president seeking clarification, including: “Did you see the ICE activity yourself and, if so, what was taking place?”
Clarification had not yet been provided.
Sgt. Betsy Branford-Smith, with the National Police Association, said stories of fear put officers at risk too.
“These agents have now been additionally endangered. It’s already dangerous enough,” Smith said.
An online learning management system is back online after a cyberattack created chaos for local school districts and colleges in Maryland.
Canvas, an online portal used by students and teachers, and parent company Infrastructure were attacked by hacking group ShinyHunters. The group is tied to several other notable attacks, including the Live Nation hack.
In a statement to CBS News on Friday, Instructure said the company took Canvas offline after learning that hackers had “made changes to the pages that appeared when some students and teachers were logged in.”
The hackers exploited an issue linked to its Free-For-Teacher accounts, the company said.
“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down our Free-For-Teacher accounts,” the company said. “This gives us the confidence to restore access to Canvas, which is now fully back online and available for use. We regret the inconvenience and concern this may have caused.”
Canvas was also removed from a dark web leak site created by the ransomware group to publish stolen data.
Several school districts in Maryland avoided using Canvas altogether on Friday, including Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Harford County Public Schools, and Howard County Public School System. Baltimore City Public Schools uses the site, but said it had minimal impacts and does not believe the district’s data was stolen.
Baltimore County Public Schools does not use Canvas, and it was not impacted.
Local colleges and universities halted to a standstill in the middle of finals because of the breach. The University of Maryland urged faculty and students not to access the site on Friday morning. By midday, Canvas was fully restored.
Student reaction
Students at Johns Hopkins University say the website was down for about four hours Thursday night. This breach occurred during the middle of finals at the university, and students say that without the site, they didn’t have access to study materials.
“I don’t think I can manage without Canvas,” Aseel Adam, a first-year student at Hopkins, said. “I had a final today, so I was like, ‘Oh no’. I had to email my teacher about the slides final practice. It was bad.”
Students called it a major inconvenience and said they had a late-night studying after Canvas came back online.
“5 pm hits, Canvas is shut down,” Alveena Nasir, a first-year student at Hopkins, said. “I am screwed. I have a final tomorrow. I have no access to any my files. I have no downloads…For that to shut down, I feel like the whole school shuts down.”
Canvas is used by students to review materials, submit assignments, and view their grades. Teachers are also able to communicate with students on the platform.
Students say they also don’t know what data may have been leaked and if it’s their personal information.
“They can get a lot of my information, fake it for someone else, or some bad, heinous crime. It did kind of worry me,” Adam explained.
Preventing future attacks
The Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute has been testing websites and platforms like Canvas, trying to find vulnerabilities to help prevent these types of attacks. Now, AI is making it easier than ever to take down this kind of system.
“In the old days, usually [it would] take an expert maybe a month to really come up with those complicated attacks. Recently, with the help of AI, [it takes] sometimes maybe one or two days, they can really come up with those complicated attacks,” Yinzhi Cao, technical director of the institute and associate professor of computer science, tells WJZ.
Cao says everyone needs to be more cyber-aware. To protect yourself, don’t give out deeply personal information to online platforms, use two-factor authentication, and even watch out for phishing emails.
Now, students are questioning the school’s reliance on Canvas and how they can be more prepared if there’s an attack in the future.
“The idea that we depend so much on Canvas for a lot of things is also an issue. I think there should be a balance,” Adam said.
“For having a website so fundamental to our education and not being able to protect it, I think there should be some considerations on improving it,” Nasir concluded.
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