Former candidate for Maryland governor fined over campaign material

TOWSON, Md. (AP) — The campaign committee of a former candidate for Maryland governor has been fined $2,000 for sending campaign material without an identifying authority line, the state prosecutor said.

The John King for Governor campaign committee was fined for sending campaign material to at least two Maryland State Education Association board members before the state’s 2022 primary election.

King ran in the Democratic primary. It was won by Wes Moore, who went on to win the gubernatorial election that year.

The campaign material cited by the state prosecutor related to Moore’s background, according to the state prosecutor’s office.

Maryland law requires campaign messages sent by a campaign finance entity to include the name and address of the treasurer of each campaign finance entity responsible for the campaign material. The law also requires that if campaign material is published by an individual, the person responsible for the material’s distribution be identified.

There was no authority line or information stating that the emails or attachments were sent by or paid for by the John King for Governor campaign, Charlton Howard, the state prosecutor, said in a news release Wednesday.

The Baltimore Banner reports that Moore’s campaign filed a complaint with the state, alleging the King campaign used an anonymous email account to circulate opposition research that was critical of Moore. The email included a 12-page document that attempted to discredit Moore’s Baltimore roots.