Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, to correct an editing error and reflect that County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, will face Republican Reardon Sullivan in the November general election.

Montgomery County Council Member Hans Riemer, who ran unsuccessfully for county executive in the July Democratic primary, has yet to file his final post-campaign finance disclosure statement with the Maryland State Board of Elections. The report was due Aug. 30. 

Riemer told Bethesda Beat Wednesday evening that his campaign is trying to resolve a discrepancy involving credit card processing fees.

“We just have a very small discrepancy in some of the processing fees, and we’re trying to figure out why,” Riemer said. 

Riemer said his team plans to file a request for a waiver with the state elections board. A representative with the state elections boardconfirmed Thursday that Riemer had not yet filed a request for a waiver. 

Riemer has accrued fines of $20 per day late, which increased to $35 per day Tuesday under current law. The fines are up to $210 as of Thursday.

Riemer came in third place in the Democratic primary and conceded a day after Election Day, finishing with just under 20% of the vote. Incumbent Marc Elrich defeated second-place challenger David Blair by 32 votes. Elrich will face Republican Reardon Sullivan in the Nov. 8 general election.

Riemer relied on the county’s public campaign finance system, created nearly eight years ago. Under that program, candidates for county executive and County Council can qualify for public matching funds if they agree to limit individual private contributions to no more than $250, and not to accept donations from corporate entities or political action committees (PACs).

Elrich also used this system. Elrich’s primary campaign took in a little over $1 million: In return for raising slightly more than $250,000 in small private donations, it qualified for the $750,000 maximum public subsidy per election authorized for county executive candidates.

In a disclosure statement filed Aug. 30 with the State Board of Elections, the Elrich campaign reported spending nearly $393,000 in the period from July 4 through Aug. 23, with most of that money spent or obligated in the period leading up to the July 19 primary. Combined with previously reported spending of $607,000 since he announced his bid for a second term in the summer of 2021, Elrich’s primary campaign spent an overall total of about $1 million.

Blair spent a total of $6.55 million on his campaign. The former health care services company executive reported pumping nearly $1.38 million of his own money into the campaign in its closing weeks. Added to $4.8 million in his personal funds previously directed to the 2022 campaign, it brought his total self-financing this time to just under $6.18 million, or $780,000 more than what he sunk into his 2018 candidacy.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, to correct an editing error and reflect that County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, will face Republican Reardon Sullivan in the November general election.

Montgomery County Council Member Hans Riemer, who ran unsuccessfully for county executive in the July Democratic primary, has yet to file his final post-campaign finance disclosure statement with the Maryland State Board of Elections. The report was due Aug. 30. 

Riemer told Bethesda Beat Wednesday evening that his campaign is trying to resolve a discrepancy involving credit card processing fees.

“We just have a very small discrepancy in some of the processing fees, and we’re trying to figure out why,” Riemer said. 

Riemer said his team plans to file a request for a waiver with the state elections board. A representative with the state elections boardconfirmed Thursday that Riemer had not yet filed a request for a waiver. 

Riemer has accrued fines of $20 per day late, which increased to $35 per day Tuesday under current law. The fines are up to $210 as of Thursday.

Riemer came in third place in the Democratic primary and conceded a day after Election Day, finishing with just under 20% of the vote. Incumbent Marc Elrich defeated second-place challenger David Blair by 32 votes. Elrich will face Republican Reardon Sullivan in the Nov. 8 general election.

Riemer relied on the county’s public campaign finance system, created nearly eight years ago. Under that program, candidates for county executive and County Council can qualify for public matching funds if they agree to limit individual private contributions to no more than $250, and not to accept donations from corporate entities or political action committees (PACs).

Elrich also used this system. Elrich’s primary campaign took in a little over $1 million: In return for raising slightly more than $250,000 in small private donations, it qualified for the $750,000 maximum public subsidy per election authorized for county executive candidates.

In a disclosure statement filed Aug. 30 with the State Board of Elections, the Elrich campaign reported spending nearly $393,000 in the period from July 4 through Aug. 23, with most of that money spent or obligated in the period leading up to the July 19 primary. Combined with previously reported spending of $607,000 since he announced his bid for a second term in the summer of 2021, Elrich’s primary campaign spent an overall total of about $1 million.

Blair spent a total of $6.55 million on his campaign. The former health care services company executive reported pumping nearly $1.38 million of his own money into the campaign in its closing weeks. Added to $4.8 million in his personal funds previously directed to the 2022 campaign, it brought his total self-financing this time to just under $6.18 million, or $780,000 more than what he sunk into his 2018 candidacy.