Anthony Brown Lends Nearly $400,000 To Campaign For Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Maryland's former lieutenant governor lent nearly $400,000 to his bid for Congress but still has less money to spend than his rivals in the final days of the Democratic primary campaign, finance records show.

Democrat Anthony Brown made the loan in March, and without it, his campaign would have run out of money, according to a report filed late Thursday. Donors gave less than half that amount to his campaign during the first three months of 2016.

Attempting to bounce back after his surprising loss in the 2014 race for governor, Brown is running for a safely Democratic seat in Maryland's 4th District in the Washington suburbs. The incumbent, Donna Edwards, is running for Senate.

Brown raised $21 million to run for governor in 2014 only to lose to Republican Larry Hogan in solidly Democratic Maryland, and he still has more than $400,000 in debt from that campaign after he took out a similar last-minute loan from a union.

"While I'm not a rich man, my family and I have decided to invest in this campaign because of how deeply we believe in serving our community," Brown said in a statement on Friday. "I am incredibly grateful to our grassroots supporters who have donated their time and money and we decided to ensure that we have enough resources to fight for each and every vote."

Maryland's primary is April 26 and the Democratic winner in the 4th District will be heavily favored to win in November. Brown is running against former Prince George's County state's attorney Glenn Ivey and Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk, both of whom have raised more money.

Brown has taken in $617,000 in contributions but has already spent $785,000, the report shows. The loan leaves him with $224,000 left to spend.

Ivey has raised $1 million and has $330,000 left to spend, according to his latest campaign finance report. Pena-Melnyk has raised $800,000 and has $260,000 left.

(Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)