Two Candidates Release Fundraising Stats

legumconti — Joanna Conti (l) and Judd Legum(r)

OK, so Conan O’Brien has tried to sell The Tonight Show on Craigslist. It was a joke. We get it. It was funny. But what about politics? Are offices bought and sold like a commodity?

In a Utopian world, our elected leaders would be elected by their honesty, integrity, and how well their views on the issues coincide with the views of the electorate.

In reality, it seems that he with the most dollars gets the prize. Over the past two days, we have received press release touting the money raised by two early candidates. Judd Legum, a candidate for the House of Delegates in District 30 raised $65,000. Joanna Conti, a candidate for Anne Arundel County Executive has raised almost $57,000 for her race.

It is no secret that it takes money to win a race. There are signs to be printed, letters to be mailed, ads to be run, and expenses to be paid. But should the amount of money raised be used as some sort of barometer of success? Is an effective fundraiser truly the best candidate?