Election 2022: Parrott receives more Maryland contributions, but Trone has more cash

Democratic incumbent Rep. David Trone did not add another dime to his campaign coffers since the primary election. He didn't need to self-fund any further, far outpacing his Republican opponent in total dollars in the contest for his 6th Congressional District seat next month.

Trone, owner of Total Wine & More, has over $6 million in cash on hand for his campaign as of the Sept. 30 filing deadline, while his challenger, state Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washington, has less than $500,000 on hand.

“He’s trying to buy this election again,” said Parrott of his opponent who loaned over $12 million to his campaign since 2021, during a Sept. 30 interview at Parrott's campaign headquarters.

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In an Oct. 17 interview with a Herald-Mail reporter outside of Hagerstown's City Hall, Trone responded to Parrott's claim.

"We're trying to get the word out, which is unfortunately expensive, because that's what politics is nowadays," said the congressman, before starting a walking tour of the city with Mayor Emily Keller and the Democratic ticket for Maryland governor. "That takes resources from TV, mail, etc."

The "etc." includes billboards. On a back road near Frederick, Trone has a billboard signaling that he does not take money from political action committees, or PACs. The same billboard appears on Dual Highway in Hagerstown. But a closer look at the finances of the Western Maryland congressional candidates reveals more than their signs that dot the landscape.

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In a twist of irony, the organization responsible for bringing more money into politics gave a donation to the candidate who’s hoping big money matters less than homegrown support.

Parrott received a $1,000 contribution from the Citizens United Political Victory Fund, a conservative PAC affiliated with the group whose Supreme Court case loosened spending restrictions on corporations. Corporate spending, however, is not the major money at play in the newly reshaped Western Maryland congressional district — Trone's own cash is.

His June personal loan of $10 million tips the fundraising scale far in his favor. He’s received 474 contributions, including from 200 from ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, two from Nancy Pelosi for Congress, totaling $4,000, and he’s made at least a handful of other contributions himself.

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His campaign has spent nearly $7 million during this two-year period, including an additional $4.7 million since July. The incumbent spent $633,000 on three media buys through Canal Partners Media during this year’s primary, $495,000 on a D.C.-based consulting firm, and about $150 on subscriptions to The Baltimore Sun newspaper.

The district was represented by another millionaire, Democrat John Delaney, from 2013 to 2019 before Trone took the seat while Delaney ran for president.

Where's the money coming from and where's it going?

The $1,000 Citizens United contribution represents a sliver of the $633,123 that Parrott has raised over the past two years. The majority — 86% — of Parrott’s 857 contributions came from Maryland, according to a Sept. 30 campaign finance report.

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One $5,000 contribution to Parrott came from the Defend Freedom PAC affliated with Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio while another contribution for $5,000 came from Huck PAC, affiliated with former Republican governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee.

The House Freedom Fund, which supports conservative candidates, listed Parrott as one of 17 “priority candidates” for the 2022 midterms.

Republican state legislators Del. Mike McKay, Allegany/Garrett, Eastern Shore Del. Johnny Mautz, and Carroll County Del. Susan Krebs all made contributions to Parrott’s campaign.

Parrott has $472,864 cash on hand as of the Sept. 30 filing deadline, receiving 69 contributions over $1,000. Trone has received nearly twice that many contributions over $1,000, including a $50,000 contribution from himself in March of last year.

Parrott’s campaign spent about a quarter million dollars, according to the finance report, including a little over $100 over the two-year period on a newspaper subscription to the company that owns The Herald-Mail. Parrott yard signs are interspersed along the Dual Highway, far below the billboards for the Democratic incumbent.

How much does money matter?

Elections come down to three things, according to John Willis, Maryland's former secretary of state from 1995 to 2003.

"Money, media, and message," said Willis, a professor of government and public policy at the University of Baltimore during an Oct. 17 interview outside Hagerstown's City Hall while awaiting the arrival of Wes Moore, the Democratic nominee for governor. You generally have to win two of the three to win an election, he said.

Republican Rep. Andy Harris, the incumbent congressman from Maryland’s 1st Congressional District that covers the Eastern Shore, Harford County and parts of Baltimore County, said money is not everything in the Western Maryland race.

“It’s going take a sufficient amount of money, but you don’t have to match,” said the congressman of six terms in an Oct. 3 interview. He was one member of Congress who backed Parrott in the Republican primary. Harris’ own seat is not dependent on whether his thesis holds.

He has more cash on hand than Democrat Heather Mizeur, who has raised over half a million dollars during the last three months.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Trone has more campaign funds than opponent Parrott in Maryland election