Baltimore Mayoral Candidates Release Fundraising Dollars

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The numbers are in for the race for City Hall. The candidates vying for the mayor's job have released their fundraising dollars. So who has the most money, and what impact will it have?

Meghan McCorkell has the breakdown.

Even with a big campaign war chest, experts say money doesn't always equal votes.

Three more months to hit the campaign trail before the primary.

"I'm really commited to being a great mayor and to really lead this city to where it needs to go," said former mayor Sheila Dixon.

"The question to the voters is do you want to go forward or do you want to go backwards?" said Sen. Catherine Pugh, (D) Baltimore.

Now we're learning which mayoral candidates have been banking big fundraising dollars.

Early frontrunner in the polls, former mayor Sheila Dixon has $320,000 in her campaign war chest.

Her closest rival, Maryland Senator Catherine Pugh, has more than double that at $664,000.

But experts say how much money you have may not be as important as where it all came from.

"If you get a lot of small donations from people who live in Baltimore, that reflects a strong voting base," said Matthew Crenson, political analyst.

Dixon's campaign says they've received hundreds of smaller donations.

"Catherine Pugh has more money than Ms. Dixon has, but a lot of it comes from out of state, from large donations," said Crenson.

Topping the money leaderboard is businessman David Warnock, who lent his own campaign nearly $1 million.

"It's about investing in a great city," said Warnock.

Lawyer Elizabeth Embry reports raising $422,000.

She is followed by Councilman Nick Mosby, with $203,000.

Councilman Carl Stokes, who's also polling well, has $155,000.

"I'm comfortable with where we are," Stokes said.

But there's months to go, more doors to knock on and more money to be raised.

The primary election is scheduled for April 26.

The latest Gonzales Poll shows 21 percent of voters are still undecided in the mayoral race.