Braveboy’s campaign cash far outpaces her write-in challenger’s haul

As early voting is underway in Maryland, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy holds a massive financial advantage over her write-in challenger, Tonya Sweat.

Braveboy had more than $772,000 left to spend on her reelection bid as of Oct. 23, when the most recent campaign finance reports were due. Sweat had about $3,400, according to the latest reports.

Braveboy raised $50,850 and spent $76,523 between Aug. 19 and Oct. 18, according to her Oct. 23 report; Sweat raised $12,503 and spent $11,867 during the same period.

Sweat is running as a write-in candidate after losing a legal fight to appear on the November ballot. The Board of Elections found that Sweat failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify as an unaffiliated candidate, and the Supreme Court of Maryland upheld the board’s determination.

In an email, Sweat said she’s grateful to all who donated time and effort to her grassroots campaign. “Because of the people of Prince George’s County, this campaign is motivated to finish strong on November 3rd,” she said.

Braveboy reported 28 contributions during the latest reporting period, compared with 73 for Sweat. But many of Braveboy’s contributions were substantially larger.

Braveboy received $6,195.20 from Gragg Cardona Souadi, a D.C.-based developer selected to lead the redevelopment of about 93 acres of county-owned land surrounding the Bowie State University MARC station.

She received $5,000 from VGW Luckyland Inc., $4,000 from Motorola Solutions Inc. PAC and $3,097.70 from D.C.-based Continental Construction Inc.

Three individuals each contributed $3,000: Paul Blackman, who listed his occupation as a project manager at Trusted Advisory Group; Roland St. Paul, an attorney and real estate investor with Marcismo Real Estate Ventures; and Derrick Mashore of Myers Mosaic Group, a real estate advisory firm. Lobbying and consulting firm CEO Corey Arnez Griffin made a $1,000 contribution, upping his total donation to Braveboy this cycle to $4,500.

Sweat’s largest contribution during the period was $3,000 from Ron Oliver’s unsuccessful primary campaign for Prince George’s County sheriff, followed by $1,548.75 from DeVon Banks, owner and founder of D-Tech Billing & Claims.

Banks, who also made in-kind contributions to Sweat’s campaign, said in an email to The Banner that she has seen Sweat in the community helping seniors, business owners and parents in need.

“I have also followed and helped with county politics for over 20 years,” Banks said. “I can attest to many things that are coming to light right now. It is shameful that we allow people to thrive off of these practices. Cronyism, pay to play tactics and other corrupt practices that go on behind closed doors only tear away from the people who voted for them.”

Braveboy’s largest reported expense was a $65,000 payment to Slingshot Strategies in Brooklyn, New York, which is listed as “Fundraiser - General Expenses.” Her campaign also transferred $6,000 to state Sen. Shaneka Henson’s campaign. Under state law, candidates are allowed to distribute unused campaign funds to other political committees, local boards of education, public or private institutions of higher ed in the state, or the gubernatorial public campaign fund.

Sweat’s largest expense was $2,500 paid to Vision And Purpose Media Productions in Upper Marlboro for brochure advertising.

Throughout the current election cycle, which runs from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2026, Braveboy has raised about $2.26 million; Sweat has raised $43,900. Individual donors accounted for about 56% of Braveboy’s contributions, while businesses, groups and organizations accounted for the remaining 44%. About 83% of Sweat’s contributions came from individuals.

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