Dems outspend GOP in county

Democrats in Balto. Co. executive race also raising more than Republicans

The Democratic candidates for Baltimore County executive continue to outraise and outspend their Republican counterparts, according to new campaign finance reports.

Going into the final days of the campaign, Democrat Vicki Almond has the most cash on hand — about $241,000.

Almond, a county councilwoman from Reisterstown, raised about $83,000 during the 25-day reporting period from May 16 through June 10. But she drained a sizable amount of her war chest, spending $578,000, mostly on radio, television and digital advertising.

Almond also benefited from the Baltimore County Victory Slate, an account controlled by former county executive Jim Smith that gave her $20,000. The Baltimore County Victory Slate has also been sending out mailers promoting Almond in recent days, though those mailers weren’t included on the slate’s report.

A political action committee, Baltimore County Votes PAC, was established last month to benefit Almond. But the PAC filed a report stating it did not plan to raise or spend more than $1,000.

Fellow Democrat Johnny Olszewski Jr. has the next largest amount of cash on hand, with about $218,000.

The former delegate from Dundalk raised about $37,000 during the reporting period. And he spent about $330,000 on radio, television and digital advertising.

Olszewski also is a member of a slate that benefits him and two other candidates, the Baltimore County Future Slate. The slate spent about $2,600 on local newspaper ads and $865 reimbursing Olszewski’s campaign manager for postage.

Democrat Jim Brochin, a state senator from Cockeysville, loaned himself $95,000 as part of the approximately $178,000 he took in during the reporting period.

He has only $37,000 in the bank after spending about $202,000, including $125,000 on TV ads and $52,000 on radio ads. In the previous reporting period, Brochin spent nearly $800,000 on media and advertising.

The two candidates for the Republican nomination have far less money to spend in the waning days of the campaign.

Insurance commissioner Al Redmer Jr. of Middle River has about $53,000 in the bank. He raised $28,000 and spent $96,000, including $38,000 on mailers, $19,000 on television ads and $8,600 for online ads.

Pat McDonough, a state delegate from Middle River, has $26,000 in cash on hand, after raising $11,000 and spending about $8,000. His report shows no ad buys or spending on direct mail.

The primary elections are June 26, though early voting started on Thursday and runs through this Thursday.

The primaries will determine who will face off in November to become Baltimore County’s next chief executive. Kevin Kamenetz, a Democrat who held the job for two terms and was running for governor, died last month. The County Council selected Don Mohler, Kamenetz’s chief of staff, to serve the rest of his term.