Filings dated Oct. 19 through Nov. 2 show national Democratic committees moving millions through Maryland accounts, while a newly formed PAC opposing Question 3 reported a single $325,000 contribution from an Omaha-based nonprofit.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
The Democratic Governors Association sent $4.15 million to a Maryland-registered committee called DGA Action in four transfers between Oct. 20 and Oct. 28, according to State Board of Elections records. Over the same stretch, DGA Action reported three payments to Fight Back MD, the committee campaigning for Question 3, totaling $460,000. MDBayNews reported Oct. 24 that DGA Action had given the committee $800,000 on Oct. 16, which brings the total to $1.26 million. The Maryland reports show no other spending, though federal records, described below, show much more elsewhere. The filings put the association’s total giving to DGA Action at $33.76 million, including a $769,981.75 in-kind list acquisition. That is about 95 percent of the roughly $35.32 million the committee has reported receiving, MDBayNews reported Oct. 28. That is a cumulative figure and is not tied to Question 3.
“DGA Action reported $1.26 million in payments to Fight Back MD.”
Question 3 is on the ballot today. Under the State Board of Elections’ summary, it would clarify that certain requirements apply only to state legislative districts, let the General Assembly give the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction to review the congressional plan, and provide that nothing in the constitution sets criteria for congressional district boundaries. The Baltimore Banner described the effect as applying compactness and natural-boundary rules to General Assembly maps and not congressional ones. Approval would not itself redraw a district or change the districts in use today. If voters approve it, later redistricting efforts could threaten the seat of Rep. Andy Harris, the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, according to The Daily Record.
In the filings reviewed, the large sums came from Democratic and progressive committees, labor unions and corporate PACs. No Republican committee in those filings reported money on that scale.
This review covers transactions dated Oct. 19 through Nov. 2 in the state’s campaign finance database and the reports behind it. Spending from the final days may not be filed until after Election Day.
The pro-Question 3 side
Fight Back MD raised $2,280,017.94 between Aug. 19 and Oct. 18, The Daily Record reported, including roughly $800,000 from a PAC affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association and $500,000 from Democracy PAC. FOX45 reported that the committee had more than $1.8 million in cash when that reporting period closed. MDBayNews reported Oct. 24 that at least 71 percent of its net monetary contributions through Oct. 18 came from donors listing out-of-state addresses. A listed address does not show where the money originated. Gov. Wes Moore’s campaign has also put more than $1 million of its own money into pro-Question 3 ads, according to The Banner, including a $700,000 buy in the Washington market and an initial $500,000 for an Oct. 26 ad featuring former President Barack Obama.
“At least 71 percent of its net monetary contributions through Oct. 18 came from donors listing out-of-state addresses.”
Reports filed by the committees that paid Fight Back MD list $590,000 more in payments between Oct. 20 and Oct. 30:
- DGA Action: $160,000 on Oct. 26, $140,000 on Oct. 27 and $160,000 on Oct. 28
- AMERIPAC Future: $50,000 on Oct. 26
- Jeffries for Congress: $50,000 on Oct. 29
- April McClain Delaney for Congress: $20,000 on Oct. 30
- Democracy Summer Leadership PAC: $10,000 on Oct. 20
Those figures come from the payers’ own reports. Fight Back MD’s next filing will show what it actually received. The Oct. 28 DGA Action payment appears in the report filed that day, which MDBayNews reported, but it is absent from the state’s Nov. 2 expenditure export. MDBayNews could not determine from the records why. Without it, the total is $430,000, and DGA Action’s late payments are $300,000.
“The Oct. 28 DGA Action payment appears in the report filed that day, but it is absent from the state’s Nov. 2 expenditure export.”
Jeffries for Congress, the campaign committee of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, reported $35,000 in checks from eight PACs between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27, including the political committees of Capital One, McDonald’s and Charter Communications and the National Automobile Dealers Association. The filings do not connect those checks to the $50,000 payment that followed.
Most of DGA Action’s money has gone elsewhere. MDBayNews reported Oct. 28, using federal records through Oct. 14, that about $13.69 million left the matching federal committee between Sept. 1 and Oct. 14, against about $13.58 million received. MDBayNews matched that committee to the Maryland filer by reconciling receipts, not through an official cross-reference. Of the outflow, $11.505 million went to Ohioans for Lower Costs, a Columbus committee whose Ohio governor’s race ads contrast Republican Vivek Ramaswamy with Democrat Amy Acton, according to the Democratic Governors Association. Another $500,000 went to Rob Sand For Iowa, and $1.5 million went back to the association. The Maryland reports show $7.88 million received between Oct. 15 and Oct. 28. In that stretch, $1.26 million went to Fight Back MD. The roughly $6.6 million difference is not an unexplained balance. The filings reviewed do not show how much was transferred, spent elsewhere or retained.
Opponents are working with far less. Protect Maryland Votes spent about $57,400 from Oct. 5 to Oct. 18 and had about $151,000 left, FOX45 reported. The Banner put that group’s budget at about $200,000 so far and said the opposing committees have been at a “huge financial disadvantage.”
A new PAC with one donor
Truth for Maryland PAC registered with the state on Oct. 14. Its first report, covering Oct. 14 through Oct. 18, showed a zero balance and no activity. On Oct. 23, it received a single $325,000 electronic transfer from Progressive Prosperity Caucus, Inc., which lists an address in Omaha, Nebraska. Its Oct. 30 report lists that group as the sole contributor.
“Its Oct. 30 report lists that group as the sole contributor.”
The committee is registered as a super PAC for independent expenditures only. Its registration lists two positions: support for Moore and opposition to Question 3. It moved the money fast:
- $100,000 on Oct. 23 to National Trust Media of Wayne, Pennsylvania, for video
- $150,000 on Oct. 26 to the same firm for online advertising
- $44,150.69 on Oct. 26 to Post Haste Mailing of Annapolis for direct mail
- $5,000 on Oct. 23 to AX Capital of Dublin, Ohio, for accounting services
The media and mail costs are split evenly in the reports between supporting Moore and opposing Question 3. That leaves $25,849.31 in the bank as of the Oct. 30 report.
The PAC’s ads urge voters to back Moore while rejecting Question 3, and they borrow a color scheme and font that resemble the governor’s campaign, The Banner reported. Moore’s campaign lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter on Oct. 21 saying the ads falsely suggest the governor opposes Question 3 and suggesting they may violate a new state election misinformation law. The PAC kept the ads running. FOX45 noted that none of the challenges to the PAC has been adjudicated.
Chair Andrew Brightwell is a Republican strategist whose past work includes Larry Hogan’s campaigns and Ed Hale Sr.’s unsuccessful run in this year’s Republican primary for governor, The Banner reported. Hale was a Democrat until he switched parties in 2025 to run. In a statement, Brightwell said the PAC backs Moore’s reelection and is “proud of the progressive support” it has received. The treasurer is Hugh Halloran. Two anonymous complaints filed with the State Board of Elections and the Office of the State Prosecutor allege the PAC should have disclosed the source of its money earlier, The Banner reported. Super PACs must report within 48 hours of spending $10,000 or more, and elections officials wrote to the group on Oct. 23 to remind it of that requirement.
The filings do not say who funds Progressive Prosperity Caucus. The Banner reported that the group appears to have formed this year and, as a nonprofit, is not required to disclose its donors. FOX45 reported Nov. 2 that the group gave $750,000 to a committee that backed Democrat Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary. Fight Back MD spokesperson Luca Amayo accused the donor of “bankrolling an effort to trick Maryland voters.”
Messaging aimed at the other side’s voters is not new in Maryland. The Banner noted that Moore’s campaign and the state Democratic Party ran primary ads calling Republican Dan Cox too conservative, a move meant to boost him, and that the Democratic Governors Association paid for pro-Cox ads in the 2022 Republican primary.
Labor and national progressive money
Working Families Party PAC filed a 48-hour report on Oct. 30 covering June 17 through Oct. 28. It lists $7,141,400 in donations over that span, including $796,000 in 12 gifts dated Oct. 20 through Oct. 28. Eleven of the 12 came from addresses outside Maryland. The exception was a Silver Spring group.
The largest were $150,000 from a National Nurses United committee in Silver Spring, $145,000 in two gifts from Clean and Prosperous America (c4) of Tumwater, Washington, $120,000 from the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council and $100,000 from Dignity CA SEIU Local 2015 of Sacramento.
The report lists a single expenditure, and it is local. On Oct. 28, the PAC paid $20,000 to Progressive Maryland Inc. of Silver Spring for field work supporting Karl Bickel, the Democratic nominee for Frederick County sheriff. Bickel faces Republican Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, who is seeking a sixth consecutive term, according to The Frederick News-Post.
Gaming money in the legislative races
American Future, which The Banner’s Rick Hutzell described on Oct. 16 as part of Win for America, a super PAC funded by the online gaming industry, reported $167,590.08 in independent expenditures between Oct. 19 and Oct. 22. Of that, $122,074.28 went to oppose Jessica Haire, the Republican candidate for state Senate in District 30, through online ads, television and other digital work. Haire is challenging Democratic Sen. Shaneka Henson. That figure is part of a larger total: MDBayNews reported Oct. 23 that American Future’s cumulative spending against Haire since late September had reached $434,956.87.
Hutzell reported that American Future had spent $3.2 million on General Assembly races this year as of mid-October. Senate President Bill Ferguson’s campaign told The Banner that outside groups make their own spending decisions and that he does not direct them.
Energy PAC checks
On Oct. 27, Constellation Energy Corporation Employee PAC reported 17 transfers totaling $28,532.16 to Maryland candidates and caucus committees. Recipients included Moore ($2,934.93), Attorney General Anthony Brown ($2,750), Comptroller Brooke Lierman ($2,400), Ferguson ($447.23), and the Senate and House Democratic caucus committees ($3,500 combined).
Republicans were on the list too: Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey ($1,500), Del. Jason Buckel ($1,000) and Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready ($500).
What voters won’t see until after the vote
The state’s post-general report for this election covers Oct. 19 through Nov. 10 and is due Nov. 17. Until then, 48-hour reports give only partial visibility into the final stretch. A filing that names a nonprofit donor also does not show who financed the nonprofit.
What to watch:
- Truth for Maryland’s post-general report, which could show contributions that arrived after Oct. 30.
- Fight Back MD’s next filing, which will show how much of the DGA-linked money it received and spent.
- Whether state officials act on either complaint involving Truth for Maryland.
- Who ultimately funds Progressive Prosperity Caucus, which no filing reviewed here identifies.
The filings show millions moving through national political organizations, a $325,000 contribution from a nonprofit whose donors remain undisclosed, and more spending in legislative races. They cannot supply a full accounting before Election Day. Voters decide today. The next regular disclosure comes Nov. 17.
Sources: Maryland State Board of Elections campaign finance reports and database exports downloaded Nov. 2, including DGA Action 48-hour reports filed Oct. 28 and Oct. 30; Truth for Maryland PAC’s statement of organization and reports filed Oct. 20, Oct. 23, Oct. 28 and Oct. 30; Working Families Party PAC’s 48-hour report filed Oct. 30; April McClain Delaney for Congress’ 48-hour report filed Oct. 30; AMERIPAC Future’s 48-hour report filed Oct. 28; American Future’s 48-hour reports filed Oct. 21 and Oct. 23; and Constellation Energy Corporation Employee PAC’s 48-hour report filed Oct. 29. Also: Michael Phillips, MDBayNews, Oct. 23, Oct. 24 and Oct. 28, including his analysis of Federal Election Commission records for DGA Action (committee C00503789); the Democratic Governors Association’s release “NEW: Ohioans for Lower Costs Ads Highlight Stark Contrast Between Ramaswamy and Acton,” democraticgovernors.org; Pamela Wood, The Baltimore Banner, Oct. 20, Oct. 21, Oct. 26, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31; the State Board of Elections’ Question 3 ballot language page; Rick Hutzell, The Baltimore Banner, Oct. 16; Hannah Gaskill, The Daily Record, Oct. 26; Maryland Matters, Aug. 21, 2025; Mikenzie Frost, FOX45 News, Nov. 2; and The Frederick News-Post’s election coverage, accessed Nov. 2.
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