Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan raised $1.7 million in his first year in office, a significant haul for a first-time officeholder who used public funds to get elected and was outspent during his 2014 campaign.
The funds come on top of the $1.4 million Hogan (R) collected in the two months after his election, leaving him with $2 million in his campaign coffers after paying off loans and other expenses. Maryland’s last Republican governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., had a similar amount on hand going into his second year, while Hogan’s Democratic predecessor Martin O’Malley had half as much available.
Hogan’s political war chest will have to increase several-fold in order for him to fund a robust 2018 reelection campaign, political observers say. Most donations will come later in his term. But the early fundraising gives him a head start, and could scare off potential challengers.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Fenit Nirappil over at the Washington Post
