Jawando raises more than $1.4 million in contributions in lead-up to election

The latest campaign finance reports show a lopsided fundraising race in the contest for Montgomery County executive.

In a filing due Friday, Will Jawando, the Democratic nominee, reports that he has raised more than $1.4 million this election cycle, which began Jan. 1, 2023.

His Republican challenger, accountant Esther Wells, has raised $53,091. Wells is not using public financing.

“These campaign finance reports are important, but they are only one measure of a viable campaign,” Wells said in a statement Monday. “The real strength of a campaign is the people behind it.”

A spokesperson for Jawando’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

In Montgomery County, 58% of registered voters are Democrats, according to the state Board of Elections. Jawando and the Democratic nominees for the County Council’s 11 seats are widely projected to win the Nov. 3 election.

An at-large member of the County Council, Jawando is relying on the county’s public financing program. Candidates using public financing cannot accept contributions from political action committees, LLCs, businesses or large-money donors.

In his latest finance report, he has requested $16,025 in matching funds. That would bring his total in matching funds for this race to about $989,000.

Jawando has $62,689 in cash on hand to spend in the final stretch of the race, compared to Wells’ $9,307.

While Jawando cannot directly receive funds from PACs, he has received indirect support from the Working Families Party, a Brooklyn-based progressive group that backed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The group’s PAC has spent nearly $88,000 on Jawando.

Council races

The races for two district and the four at-large seats on the council are contested.

In District 1, which includes Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase and other southwestern parts of the county, Democratic nominee Julie Yang — who now sits on the school board — has raised $469,501 through a combination of contributions and public financing. Republican challenger Reardon Sullivan has raised $90,949 in contributions.

In District 3, which includes Gaithersburg and Rockville, Democratic nominee and current Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman has raised $225,549 through a combination of contributions and public financing. Republican challenger Ricky Mui raised $8,689.

In the race for four at-large seats — the top four candidates in a field of five will win election — Democrat Scott Goldberg leads the pack with $469,420 in total contributions. County Executive Marc Elrich follows with $296,648, school board member Karla Silvestre has raised $294,527 and incumbent council member Laurie-Anne Sayles raised $132,083.

All four Democrats raised their funds through a combination of contributions and public financing.

Republican nominee Sherwin Wells has raised $19,020.

School board

Two school board races — one at-large and the other for District 3 — are contested.

In the at-large race, Omar Lazo brought in nearly $4,100 and Brenda Diaz raised roughly $6,100 during the latest reporting period. Lazo has raised $22,192 in total and Diaz has raised $27,594 in total.

Lazo has more than $11,000 to spend about a week before Election Day. His finances were bolstered by a $500 transfer from Gov. Wes Moore’s campaign. He also got a monetary boost from Yang, the current school board member, and state delegate Jheanelle Wilkins.

Diaz is the subject of negative ads from a super PAC. Strong Maryland is spending tens of thousands of dollars to label her as a bad fit for deep-blue Montgomery County. She’s entering the final days of campaigning with roughly $3,850 cash on hand.

She received a $650 donation from the Montgomery County Federation of Republican Women and $500 from the Chevy Chase Women’s Republican Club.

Throughout the District 3 race, Sally McCarthy has sat comfortably in a stronger financial position than her opponent, Cassandra “Cassi” Sung.

Neither raised much during this fundraising period, but McCarthy has nearly $15,500 cash on hand, compared to Sung, who has just over $200. McCarthy has raised $21,493 in total compared to Sung’s $1,538.