Del. Gary Simmons, who represents parts of Anne Arundel County, is under the microscope after campaign finance reports showed heavy spending in 2025 on meals, hotels, and out-of-state travel. Donors and election officials say the pattern is setting off fast questions about whether contributions were used for true campaign work or slid into the territory of personal spending.
A review by Spotlight on Maryland found that Simmons’ committee raised about $28,000 in calendar year 2025 and reported spending nearly $26,000, more than 90% of newly raised funds, while just over 14% was labeled as reelection activity, according to Fox Baltimore. The same filings list more than $2,000 in meal expenses and thousands of additional dollars in travel and resort charges for 2025.
What the law says
Maryland law generally bars candidates from converting campaign contributions to personal use and says spending has to have a clear electoral nexus, meaning the money must be tied to supporting or opposing a candidate. That standard appears in the State Board of Elections guidance and in the campaign finance summary the board relies on when it audits reports and handles complaints, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Examples flagged in the filings
Reporters who dug through the itemized entries found a string of food charges during the 90-day legislative session, including a $142.13 tab at Seaside Restaurant in Glen Burnie on Feb. 3 and a $70.38 bill at Cooper’s Hawk in Annapolis on Feb. 4, plus 16 separate purchases at Lisa’s Luncheonette in the James Senate Office Building. The committee also reported more than $6,622 in out-of-state travel for 2025, including $1,296 at Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, an $850 charge at Tiesta Tea in Chicago, and roughly $3,741 in travel-related vendor costs tied to trips to Boston, New York City, New Jersey, and Providence.
Jared DeMarinis, the state administrator of elections, told reporters that “in the fact pattern provided, the description of the activities would be deemed personal, not electoral” and said such a case could be referred to the Office of the State Prosecutor. Simmons told Spotlight on Maryland he would reimburse the campaign “if he determined he did something wrong” and defended some of the travel as conference-related, as reported by Fox Baltimore.
What could happen next
If the board or its auditors decide certain expenses do not have an electoral nexus, the case can be bumped into enforcement. Election authorities can order repayment and levy civil penalties, and in situations where they suspect willful conversion of funds, they can refer the matter for prosecution to the state prosecutor or other law enforcement agencies. That oversight and referral process matches the tools described in campaign finance enforcement resources from the NCSL.
Where Simmons stands
Simmons, a first-term delegate elected in 2022 who represents District 12B, has a campaign committee on file with the State Board of Elections under the name Gary Simmons For Maryland. The filings and any formal complaint would move through the SBE’s MDCRIS system and into whatever investigatory track the board chooses, while Simmons continues to present himself as accountable to voters, according to his Maryland General Assembly member profile and the state’s candidate list from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
