BALTIMORE — A federal political action committee associated with Gov. Wes Moore raised about $267,000 in the first six months of the year, including $85,000 during the final two weeks of the legislative session in Annapolis when officials are legally barred from raising money.
Moore does not have a formal role with Unity First PAC, which started last year and mostly worked to help now-U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a key ally of the Democratic governor’s, win her seat.
But the group’s of Moore as a “featured guest” at a fundraiser in April raised concerns from some Republicans that the governor was violating “the spirit of the law” if not the state law itself. Representatives for the group said at the time that it was abiding by state and federal laws, in part because it was not fundraising for Moore or any other specific candidate.
Republican lawmakers sponsored emergency legislation to close what they described as a loophole that allowed the governor to attend the fundraiser. The legislation did not pass. And Moore’s state-level political organization, which started the three-month fundraising blackout in January with a robust $5 million in the bank, began publicly raising money a week later, after the session ended on April 7.
Joe Dietrich, an assistant professor of political science at Towson University, said groups like Unity First are a common tool for politicians like Moore to work on building robust fundraising networks, especially if he is looking to run for president in 2028 (Moore has said repeatedly that he’s currently “not running”).
Dietrich said it doesn’t appear that Moore did anything illegal with the April fundraiser. But the complicated nature of campaign finance laws and enforcement give both sides an opportunity to make their case, Dietrich said.
“It’s more symptomatic of the system we face now — of the money-soaked, hyper-expensive system that we’re slowly building,” Dietrich said. “If you’re a Moore supporter, then everything looks fine and great. If you’re a Moore detractor, then it doesn’t smell right.”
Unity First’s fundraising
After raising $768,000 in the second half of 2024, Unity First collected $267,000 from 10 individuals, seven companies and a few unidentified online donations in the first half of 2025, according to its filing with the Federal Election Commission late last week.
As an “independent expenditure” committee that does not work directly with candidates, it can collect donations beyond the normal limits.
It was largely funded this year by Nicholas Cortezi, an executive at the insurance firm Ryan Specialty, who gave $100,000 on April 18, according to the Unity First campaign finance report. Cortezi gave the same amount to a pro-Moore PAC during the crowded 2022 gubernatorial primary. He also donated $30,000 to Moore’s inauguration festivities in early 2023.
Unity First’s other largest donations were $25,000 from both the Weinman Company, a real estate and development firm based in Baltimore County, and Health Care Facility Management LLC, whose Ohio address listed on the campaign report matches the corporate offices of CommuniCare Health Services. The health care company operates Maryland nursing homes and agreed to a $400,000 settlement with state prosecutors in 2024 after an investigation found it provided substandard care at its facilities.
The donation from Health Care Facility Management is dated March 26, which was one week before the April 2 fundraiser featuring the governor.
Other donations with the same date, according to the filing, were $10,000 from JFF Management Services, which owns a Hyundai dealership in Rockville, and $10,000 from Canton Port Services, a stevedoring company that operates at the Port of Baltimore.
Another $40,000 in donations were listed on April 3. They included $20,000 from Ricardo Martinez, who has also previously donated to Unity First and to Moore’s own campaign. Martinez’s wife, Yolanda “Maria” Martinez, is an official who serves as the head of the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs. Moore originally nominated her to serve on the powerful Maryland Stadium Authority board, though the Maryland General Assembly chose not to advance her nomination because of concerns over past legal and financial issues.
Two other $10,000 donations on April 3 were from Mary Anne Harms, a Maryland Heritage Areas Authority board member who was appointed before Moore’s term, and an organization listed as “Columbia” that matches the address for The Howard Hughes Corporation, a Columbia-based real estate and development firm.
Unity First PAC did not respond to a question about which donations were specifically connected to the fundraiser. In a statement provided by Sophia Silbergeld — who works as a fundraiser for both the PAC and for Moore’s campaign — it said Moore attended but “did not host the event or solicit for donations.”
Aligned with Moore’s priorities
The PAC’s priorities appear to be aligned with the governor’s heading into the 2026 midterm elections, even as Moore “has no role, formal or informal, in Unity First PAC’s strategy or activities,” according to the group.
“Unity First’s goal is to reflect and expand the priorities of leaders and candidates for office who are working to expand work, wages and wealth to ensure that no one is left behind,” the statement read, referencing Moore’s 2022 campaign slogans.
After sponsoring some television and other types of independent campaign ads in the 2024 election, it wasn’t immediately clear how the group intends to spend its money in the current cycle leading to the 2026 midterms.
Congressional battles nationwide will be closely watched, with Republicans trying to defend slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. In Maryland, all eight U.S. House seats will be on the ballot, though neither Alsobrooks nor U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen will be up for re-election.
Unity First PAC had nearly $184,000 in the bank as of the end of June. It had spent about $122,000 so far this year, primarily on consultants and software, according to its filing.
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