Conway blasts Mfume over campaign donations from interest groups

Story by Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun

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Mark Conway news conference about Mfume donors.

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Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives, criticized incumbent Rep. Kweisi Mfume’s campaign for its ties to pro-Israeli political groups and defense contractors following the release of this year’s first federal campaign finance reports in April.

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Conway, who is challenging Mfume in June’s Democratic primary, said his rival accepted nearly $35,000 from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee during the most recent fundraising period, as well as thousands from defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

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“In total, more than $60,000 of his money came from PACs,” Conway said Sunday during a news conference outside of Mfume’s office in the city’s Mid-Town Belvedere neighborhood.

Mfume has represented the 7th Congressional District, which includes parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County, since 2020 after winning a special election following the death of Rep. Elijah Cummings. Mfume previously represented the same district between 1987 and 1997.

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“A leader who was shaped by the Civil Rights Movement now votes to send money for bombs that continue to fall on the sick and the hungry in Gaza,” Conway said. “The cost of this carnage, of course, comes at the expense of the community that he represents. … There is always money for war and never enough for the people.”

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Locally, Conway said, politicians are accepting large donations from corporations and special interest groups while ignoring issues such as rising energy costs and the cost of living.

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“To whom is this seat accountable because that money isn’t free,” Conway said. “Money has captured our politics wholesale. It’s a pattern, and until we break it, we are going to keep getting the same results — a government that works for the people who fund it and not for the people it was meant to serve.”

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Donations from healthcare companies to politicians, Conway said, have stopped progress on universal healthcare initiatives, and donations from the defense sector have contributed to foreign wars. Ultimately, he said, the problem with big donations from corporations and special interest groups is bigger than Mfume.

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“This system runs on money; if you do the right thing for the right person and the right favor, you’ll get the money to stay in office,” Conway said. “This is Baltimore. This is our seat, and it is supposed to belong to you. It is time we say enough is enough.”

In response, Mfume called the news conference a “cute stunt that doesn’t help everyday people,” adding that Conway “doesn’t know that the people of Baltimore want a workhorse, not a showhorse.”

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“It’s clear now that his campaign has reached the point of desperation where he will lie and play loose with facts to get any attention he can,” Mfume said. “It’s sad that in these tough times for families and seniors, all he does is talk, but never delivers.”

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In the most recent campaign finance report from February, Mfume and Conway raised about the same amount of money in the reporting period. However, Mfume led Conway in overall funding, with $748,000 compared to $87,000 for Conway.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.

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