Montgomery County’s Public Election Fund pays a nominee whether or not the taxpayers footing the bill plan to vote for him. October filings show how far apart the two county executive campaigns are.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Montgomery County taxpayers have put $844,556.95 into Will Jawando’s campaign for county executive, according to his committee’s filings with the State Board of Elections. On Oct. 6, the committee asked for another $19,756.50. His Republican opponent, Esther Wells, reported about $52,000 in contributions for the entire campaign.
The money flows through the county’s Public Election Fund, which matches small gifts from county residents with public dollars. Jawando, the Democratic nominee, is a participant. Wells runs a conventional candidate committee, and her report does not say why. The program is open to any candidate who clears its thresholds, which for county executive include 500 qualifying contributions and $40,000 in qualifying money, according to the county.
Still, the gap between the two campaigns is wide, and a program funded by every county taxpayer is a big part of the reason.
The two reports
Both committees report cycle totals that run from Jan. 1, 2023.
- Jawando: $1,308,563.14 in total contributions, of which $844,556.95, about 65 percent, is county matching money. He has spent $1,295,523.82 and reported $13,039.32 in the bank on Oct. 5.
- Wells: $52,136.30 in contributions, a $1,500 loan that her report lists as still outstanding, and $395 in in-kind support. She has spent $45,099.67 and reported $8,747.77 in the bank on Oct. 18.
The $844,556.95 is money the committee has already received. The Oct. 6 request for $19,756.50 is a separate ask, and it is not included in that total. Private gifts run through Oct. 5 in the contribution download, and the committee has filed matching reports on Sept. 1, Sept. 15, and Oct. 6, but the last county deposit it lists is dated June 18.
Put another way, Jawando’s committee has taken in about 25 times what Wells has. The county’s share alone is about 16 times her total.
The subsidy does not explain the whole gap. Even without the county money, Jawando’s committee took in $464,006.19 from other sources, still about nine times Wells’ total. The program widens a gap that already existed.
How $50 becomes $400
For county executive, the county matches the first $50 of a resident’s gift at $7 for every $1. The next $50 is matched at $4 for $1, and the third $50 at $2 for $1. A few examples:
- A $50 gift draws $350 in public money, for $400 in all.
- A $100 gift draws $550.
- A gift of $150 draws $650, the most any single donor can generate. Gifts above $150 draw no more.
- A $500 gift, the most the county’s guide lets one person give over the four-year cycle, draws $650 for a total of $1,150.
A candidate can collect up to $870,170 in matching money for each election, with the primary and general counted separately. Jawando told supporters in early June that he had qualified for the maximum, Bethesda Magazine reported. Only gifts from county residents are matched. Gifts from outside the county are allowed, but they draw nothing.
The case against the design
Taxpayers who disagree still pay. The County Council appropriates the money. The county said the Council had set aside $7.2 million for the fund as of January 2021. The Office of Legislative Oversight reported in 2024 that the county gave candidates $5.3 million in 2018 and $3.7 million in 2022. It said the fund held $4.6 million heading into the 2026 elections. A voter who backs Wells has no way to keep their tax dollars out of her opponent’s account.
The general election match depends on an opponent. The program pays only in contested races, and county guidance treats the primary and the general as separate elections. In practical terms, Wells’ name on the November ballot is what opens the door to a general election match for Jawando.
Wells is raising money outside the program, and different rules apply to her. Her reports list $7,150 from four Republican clubs and committees, a $5,000 check from an LLC and $500 from a corporate employee PAC, according to state campaign finance data. A participating campaign could not accept money from organizations like those.
The pitch and the history do not line up neatly. When Jawando filed for county executive, he said joining the program showed his campaign did not need big money or corporate interests, Bethesda Magazine reported in August 2025. The program bars participants from taking money from groups, including PACs, corporations, and labor organizations. Before he joined, his older committee, which he used for his 2022 council re-election, took such money. Its filings show a $3,000 check from Steamfitters Local Union No. 602 on July 22, 2022, $2,000 from the IBEW’s political fund on July 18, 2022, and $2,500 from Silver Spring Restaurant Group LLC on June 7, 2022. None of that was barred at the time, since he was running outside the program.
The timing of the switch has drawn questions, too. Montgomery Perspective reported in April that the older committee raised $48,932 in March 2025, including contributions at the state’s $6,000 maximum. The program account opened on May 2, 2025. That review called the program’s rule on paying in advance for goods and services a gray area. It found no evidence the two accounts were spending at the same time. It left the compliance question to the State Board of Elections and the Office of the State Prosecutor.
The money can keep arriving after the votes are cast. Under the county’s guide, matching reports can be filed only on the first and third Tuesday of each month, and an optional report is not filed if a required campaign finance report is due within three days. The distribution period for this election runs through Dec. 3, a month after Election Day. Once a request is approved, the county has three business days to deposit the money. The guide’s receipt submission period ends on Election Day, so new claims stop then even though payments can follow. Unspent funds must be returned within 90 days after the general election is certified. A candidate may keep up to $10,000 for post-election expenses if he declares intent to take part next cycle and keeps the same committee open. The guide bars personal use of the money.
The county’s own auditors reported limits on checking the payments. The county’s own watchdog office reported that, according to Finance staff, problems with the state’s reporting system “hindered the ability to fully audit the PEF following the 2022 election.” Ten of the 20 candidates who took part that year returned money to the fund.
The sales pitch leaves out the fine print. A flyer sent to MDBayNews for Jawando’s Oct. 19 fundraiser in Silver Spring billed the event as matched 7 to 1 and said a $50 ticket becomes $400. The 7-to-1 rate is accurate for the first $50 of a county resident’s gift. The flyer did not say that only residents’ gifts are matched. County guidance counts ticket proceeds as contributions.
This is not an accusation that Jawando broke the program’s rules. It is a look at what the rules produce. Jawando has said his campaign took more than 3,500 individual donations, the most for any county executive candidate in state history, Maryland Matters reported. Supporters have a case too. Common Cause’s Maryland policy and engagement manager told the outlet that public campaign finance for any elected office is a good idea. The open question for taxpayers is whether they are comfortable paying for it when the check also goes to a campaign they oppose.
What to Watch
- Early voting runs Thursday, Oct. 22, through Thursday, Oct. 29. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
- Whether the Oct. 6 request is paid before Election Day, and whether another matching report follows on Nov. 3, the next first or third Tuesday after Oct. 20. That report should show whether the Oct. 19 fundraiser drew county resident gifts and how much public money follows.
- After the election, how much of the $844,556.95 goes unspent and is returned, as ten of the 20 participants did in 2022. The rules on returns and retained funds are described above.
- Whether the County Council acts on the Office of Legislative Oversight’s call for clearer audit rules.
Sources: Maryland State Board of Elections, MDCRIS: “Jawando, Will for Montgomery County” Request for Additional Public Contributions and 2026 Oct 06 Matching Fund Report (filed Oct. 6, 2026); “Wells, Esther Citizens for” 2026 Pre-General 2 report (amended Oct. 18, 2026); MDCRIS contribution downloads for both committees (Oct. 20, 2026); State Board of Elections 2026 general election page. Montgomery County Government: County Executive certification flyer, Public Election Fund guide, Public Election Fund pages, Council public campaign finance page, Bill 20-24, and Office of Legislative Oversight Report 2024-16. Maryland Matters: William J. Ford, Danielle J. Brown, Christine Condon and Will Hammann, June 16, 2026; Will Hammann, July 15, 2026. Montgomery Perspective: Adam Pagnucco, Feb. 19 and April 8, 2026. Bethesda Magazine: Aug. 20, 2025, and June 3, 2026. WTOP and Fox 5 DC: June 2026 primary coverage. MDBayNews: “Jawando Taps Public Financing, and a Parallel Big-Money Committee,” Michael Phillips, April 5, 2026.
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