Thanks to the way the 2025 calendar is aligned, this year’s General Assembly session is opening on the earliest date possible, Jan. 8 — which means the annual pre-session scramble by lawmakers and statewide elected officials to raise money before a three-month fundraising ban goes into effect is more condensed and intense than ever.
State legislators and the governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller and attorney general are prevented from soliciting and collecting campaign cash during the 90-day session. And every year, between New Year’s Day and the session kickoff, there are a mind-numbing number of fundraising events on tap, mostly in Annapolis, as politicians scurry to fill their campaign coffers just as lobbyists, special interest groups and political donors begin to pay attention to the policymakers’ work in the State House.
In the days leading up to the session, a constellation of restaurants and bars near State Circle becomes Ground Zero for Maryland’s political community, and an enormous amount of cash changes hands. The events are so numerous that no one even blinks anymore, and suggestions that there might be an element of pay-to-play at work have long ago been cast aside.
This year, at least 74 fundraisers were scheduled for lawmakers, statewide elected officials and political committees between Thursday and Jan. 7, according to invitations obtained by Maryland Matters and lists of fundraising events provided by lobbying firms, the political parties and political consultants. Purchasing the cheapest ticket for each event would cost a donor a total of $24,365.69 during the course of the week.