Braveboy, Ivey and Jackson hold fundraising lead ahead of primary

With about a week to go before Election Day, Prince George’s County incumbents hold significant fundraising advantages.

Campaign finance reports filed Friday show County Executive Aisha Braveboy raised more than $234,000 in less than a month, outearning all her opponents’ combined contributions during the reporting period from May 13 to June 7.

County Council member Jolene Ivey outspent each of her opponents, dropping more than $90,000 in the same timeframe, and the two leading state’s attorneys’ candidates, Tara Jackson and Wanika Fisher, hold a significant financial advantage over the third candidate in the race.

With early voting already underway and Election Day just a week away, some self-described grassroots candidates say they are grateful for the support they’ve managed to cobble together in a tough economy, hoping a win next week in the primary will show that local elections are about more than donations.

The county executive race

Braveboy pulled in $234,177 during the 25-day sprint this period, made possible largely by maximum corporate and institutional donations.

According to Friday’s filings, Upper Marlboro-based developer Consortium Development, D.C. building firm Prestige Facades, Ellicott City subcontractor Boldmark Steel LLC, Virginia-based Uniconstruction LLC, and District Construction Management Corporation each contributed $6,000. She also secured $6,000 checks from an AI traffic safety firm, commercial mechanical contractor Pro Air, and the campaign committee of at-large council candidate Jeana Jacobs, along with a $4,000 contribution from the Montgomery County Education Association.

Braveboy’s opponents are raking in a fraction of those dollars. Gregory Holmes reported $3,456 in contributions for the period. Unaffiliated candidate Tonya Sweat brought in $2,060.

Although Sweat is trailing, she maintains that her independent path will resonate more with everyday voters than special interests in November, when she’ll first appear on voters’ ballots.

“As an Independent candidate running a grassroots campaign, fundraising is not as easy as it is for professional, long-time politicians,” Sweat wrote in an email to The Banner. “I am focused on the people and ensuring they have an option on the November ballot. I expect my fundraising to increase, from voters and not lobbyists and special interests, after my candidacy is validated by the Board of Elections.”

At-large County Council race

The candidates for the two at-large County Council seats spent big in the final weeks. Four candidates dropped a combined $173,191 during the brief reporting window.

Ivey spent $90,058 and raised $19,800. Ivey’s total haul, bolstered by cash carried over from previous cycles, stands at $679,580.82, including more than $121,000 in contributions this year.

This period, she spent $39,522 with Strategy Group LLC for direct mail services and $27,500 with Robocent for printing and brochure advertising.

Council member Sydney Harrison kept pace on fundraising, bringing in $19,081 during the same period. His biggest campaign expense this period was printing material, spending $22,220 with The Original Print Shoppe.

Challenger Sean Floyd trailed the frontrunners with $16,814 raised. Floyd noted that trying to secure campaign donations from residents facing everyday financial pressures is tough, and he is grateful for the dollars that he has received.

“I can tell you that fundraising has definitely been hard this election cycle, and I think that it should be,” Floyd said. “There are a lot of people who are hurting, and quite honestly, probably don’t have the disposable income to donate to candidates, maybe the way they would have in the past. But again, we’re all still out here working.”

Floyd added that while “having more money is always a plus,” his campaign is focused on speaking directly to as many voters as possible.

Candidate Jeana Jacobs raised $9,175, while Laura S. Gilchrest brought in $3,389.

Gilchrest said she recognizes that she is running against candidates with much larger war chests, but she still feels hopeful.

“I’m fundraising at the grassroots level, so our expectations were that people would give what they could when they could,” Gilchrest said.

State’s attorney race

The race for state’s attorney is still a competitive financial contest between Fisher, the District 2 council member, and Jackson, who is serving as the interim prosecutor. Both brought in more than $50,000, according to the latest filings.

Fisher slightly outraised Jackson during the 25-day window, bringing in $55,240 compared to Jackson’s $51,948. But Jackson holds the overall advantage with $169,143 cash on hand; Fisher has $88,800 in the bank.

“We want the voters to know the future is now, we have to focus on preventing the crime of today and not tomorrow,” said Justice Brown-Duso, Fisher’s communications director. ”We want people to know that Wanika will be at the polls from now until the end of early voting and she is willing to answer any and all questions people may have.”

Fisher has spent $100,000 on TV advertisements, while Jackson has spent more than $36,000 on digital advertising.

Fellow challenger Karen Piper Mitchell, the deputy state’s attorney for Charles County, lags behind the two frontrunners, pulling in $9,758 during the same period.

“I would have loved to have been able to raise more to compete on the same financial level as my opponents, but I accept what we made, we’re making it work,” Mitchell said. “Starting from zero and not having any kind of major machine backing has just been friends and family, just people who believe in me.”

Mitchell said that she trusts that her experience and track record will help voters choose her come Election Day.

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