Republicans and Democrats have spent $14.9 million on airwaves in the Maryland gubernatorial primary, the marquee race on the calendar today, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
The vast majority of that — $13.7 million, has come on the Democratic side. Non-profit executive and best-selling author Wes Moore has led the pack with $3.2 million, followed by the outside group backing former Labor Secretary. Tom Perez, Maryland Opportunity, with $2 million. Perez’s campaign has spent $1.8 million, and Comptroller Peter Franchot has spent $1.6 million.
On the GOP side, Kelly Schulz, the former state Commerce secretary backed by Gov. Larry Hogan, spent $914,000, while her opponent, the Trump backed state Del. Dan Cox, has spent just $20,000.
But Cox has gotten a big boost from the Democratic Governors Association, which has spent more than $1.2 million on ads labeling Cox as “too conservative” and emphasizing his ties to Trump — ads that could cost him in a general election, but right now, could help him with Republican voters.
