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Kimberly Klacik

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Kimberly Klacik
Klacik in 2020
Born
Kimberly Nicole Bray

(1982-01-19) January 19, 1982 (age 42)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Jeffrey Klacik
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1

Kimberly Nicole Klacik (née Bray; born January 19, 1982) is an American businesswoman and political commentator. She was the Republican nominee for Maryland's 2nd congressional district in the 2024 general election, in which she was defeated by Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. She was the Republican nominee for Maryland's 7th congressional district in both the April 2020 special election, held following the death of incumbent Elijah Cummings, and the subsequent November 2020 election. In both 2020 elections, she lost to Democrat Kweisi Mfume by over 40 points.

Biography

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Klacik was born Kimberly Bray on January 19, 1982.[1] Klacik grew up in Accokeek, Maryland.[2] She attended Bowie State University, but did not receive a degree.[3] She moved to the Baltimore area in 2010.[2]

In 2013, she founded Potential Me, a nonprofit that assists women with workforce development.[4][5] Courthouse News reported that Klacik's non-profit filed only one tax return since 2013, reporting a revenue of under $7,000 and expenditures under $3,000 for providing clothing to 10 women rather than the 200 women claimed by Klacik.[6]

In April 2022, Klacik became a full-time midday host at Baltimore's WBAL NewsRadio, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.[7][8] Klacik had worked part-time for WBAL since June 2021, making regular weekly appearances on afternoon host Torrey Snow's show.[8][9] She left the station in November 2022.[10]

In May 2023, Talk Radio WCBM 680AM Baltimore announced the addition of Kim Klacik to their morning line up. Klacik began hosting The Kim Klacik Show in the 9am-12 noon time slot.[11][12]

Political career

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Klacik was elected to the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee in 2018.[13] Fox News in 2019 called her a "Republican strategist" and noted her critiques of Congressman Elijah Cummings and the living standards and safety issues in his district.[14]

In a July 2019 interview on Fox & Friends, Klacik talked about Cummings's Baltimore district being overrun by trash and dilapidation. An hour later, President Donald Trump echoed the segment by beginning to disparage both the city of Baltimore and Cummings on Twitter in a series of 19 tweets over two days.[15][16][17][18][19] Klacik responded to Trump's Twitter comments by tweeting, "This just made my day."[20]

April 2020 7th district special election

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Main article: 2020 Maryland's 7th congressional district special election

Klacik ran in the special election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District to replace Cummings, who had died in October 2019. After winning the Republican primary, she faced Kweisi Mfume, a former Democratic holder of the seat. In the general election Klacik received 25.1 percent of the votes, losing to Mfume, who received 73.8 percent.[21]

November 2020 7th district election

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Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 7

Maryland's 7th District, which included parts of Baltimore County, the majority of Howard County, and more than half of Baltimore City, has been represented by Democrats for decades. No Republican has ever held the seat.[22] Klacik, who did not live in the district, promised to move there if elected.[4] She won the Republican primary on June 2, 2020.[23][24]

On August 18, 2020, Klacik's campaign released a viral video, titled "Black Lives Don't Matter To Democrats", which was filmed in a dilapidated area of Baltimore.[25][26] The video shows her asking three residents whether they wanted to defund the police, and they said that they did not.[27][26] Klacik also criticized the Democratic leaders of Maryland's 7th congressional district, citing Baltimore's alleged notoriety as being among the most dangerous cities in America. The video, posted on Twitter, garnered 4.4 million views its first day, reaching 10 million views by August 22, 2020.[28][29] Fact-checking website Snopes called the video "misleading".[30] It presented an area of Baltimore, one with a higher poverty rate and more homicides than the 7th District overall, as representative of the district. The video was conceived of and directed and produced by Benny Johnson, chief creative officer of Turning Point USA.[30][31][32] According to Snopes, Klacik's campaign had "framed the video as one, long walk through a Baltimore neighborhood" but it was actually filmed from different angles along both sides of a section of Whitelock Street that can be walked in two minutes, and Klacik was shown on a roof of a building at two different points in the video.[30]

President Donald Trump retweeted her ad, stating that "Kimberly will work with the Trump Administration and we will bring Baltimore back, and fast. Don't blow it Baltimore, the Democrats have destroyed your city!"[33] Klacik was one of the speakers on the first day of the 2020 Republican National Convention, where she gave a two-minute speech.[34][5][35]

After Klacik accused Mfume in a Twitter post of avoiding debating her, Mfume responded with a post saying that Klacik lacked familiarity with Baltimore, does not live in the city, and that a widely viewed campaign advertisement of Klacik's had misspelled the city's name.[36]

Klacik lost the election with 28 percent of the vote to Mfume's 71.6 percent.[37][38] She conceded the race to Mfume.[39] On November 8, Klacik claimed that she had won in-person voting and that she had raised enough donations to investigate alleged "irregularities."[40][41][42] According to the results published by the State Board of Elections, Mfume received more votes in in-person early and election-day voting as well as in mail-in and provisional voting.[39][40][43][44]

By the end of her 2020 House election campaign, Klacik had raised $8.3 million from small donors, most of them not from Maryland. A 2021 Washington Post article on Klacik's campaign finance filings showed that the campaign paid $4.2 million to two consulting firms. One of them, Arsenal Media Group, who had contracted with Benny Johnson to script and direct the August 2020 campaign video, received over $500,000. The other one, Olympic Media, was paid almost $3.7 million. Klacik's campaign initially reported part of it to the Federal Election Commission as payments to Republican fundraising platform WinRed.[45][46]

2024 2nd district election

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 2
Kimberly Klacik for Congress campaign sign

On February 8, 2024, Klacik announced that she would run for Congress in Maryland's 2nd congressional district, seeking to succeed retiring U.S. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger.[47] During the election, she ran on a platform focused on the issues of crime, immigration, and inflation.[48][49] Klacik won the Republican primary election on May 14, 2024, and will face Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski in the general election,[50] during which she sought to bring attention to Olszewski's various ethics controversies.[51] Klacik was defeated by Olszewski in the general election.[52]

Personal life

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Klacik was married to Jeffrey Klacik. They have a daughter and lived in Middle River, Maryland.[4] They are currently separated.[53]

Defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens

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Commentator Candace Owens accused Klacik of being a strip club “madame” who spent campaign funds on cocaine. Klacik responded by filing a $20M defamation lawsuit in August 2021. The suit was dismissed with prejudice in December 2022. Further, Klacik was ordered to pay Owens $115,000 for legal fees.[54]

Electoral history

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April 2020 special congressional election

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Main article: 2020 Maryland's 7th congressional district special election
Republican primary
2020 Maryland's 7th Congressional District special election Republican primary[55]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kimberly Klacik 4,525 40.2
Republican Liz Matory 2,740 24.3
Republican James C. Arnold 1,401 12.4
Republican Reba A. Hawkins 913 8.1
Republican Christopher M. Anderson 852 7.6
Republican William Newton 414 3.7
Republican Ray Bly 236 2.1
Republican Brian L. Brown 185 1.6
Total votes 11,266 100
General election
Maryland's 7th Congressional District Special Election Results, 2020[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kweisi Mfume 111,955 73.8
Republican Kimberly Klacik 38,102 25.1
Write-In Multiple candidates 1,661 1.1
Total votes 151,718 100

November 2020 congressional election

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Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 7
Republican primary
2020 Maryland's 7th Congressional District election Republican primary[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kimberly Klacik 16,465 68.8
Republican Liz Matory 3,401 14.2
Republican William Newton 1,271 5.3
Republican Ray Bly 1,234 5.2
Republican Brian L. Brown 1,134 4.7
Republican M.J. Madwolf 442 1.8
Total votes 23,947 100
General election
Maryland's 7th congressional district, 2020[37][38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kweisi Mfume (incumbent) 237,084 71.6
Republican Kimberly Klacik 92,825 28.0
Write-in 1,089 0.3
Total votes 330,998 99.9
Democratic hold

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rafter, Darcy (August 19, 2020). "Who is Kim Klacik? Republican's Baltimore ad goes viral!". HITC. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Vote Kimberly Klacik for Maryland District #7". kimkforcongress.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Carter, Vic (June 23, 2020). "Republican Kimberly Klacik Says 'Innovative Ideas' Set Her Apart In 7th Congressional District Race 7". Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Campbell, Colin (August 17, 2020). "Who's Kimberly Klacik? Fast facts about the Republican who won Maryland's 7th District special primary". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Maryland GOP congressional candidate to speak at RNC". Associated Press. August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Ericson Jr., Edward (April 28, 2020). "A Mail-In Experiment in Baltimore's 7th Congressional District". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  7. ^ "Kimberly Klacik joins WBAL NewsRadio with her own talk show". WBAL (AM). April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Venta, Lance (April 4, 2022). "Kimberly Klacik Joins WBAL Lineup As Midday Host". RadioInsight. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Hedrick, Ryan (June 23, 2021). "Kimberly Klacik To Join WBAL NewsRadio 1090". Barrett Media. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Razo, Eduardo (November 11, 2022). "Kimberly Klacik Announces Exit From WBAL". Barrett Media. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Ateba, Simon (May 1, 2023). "Kim Klacik Joins WCBM AM 680 as Host, Bringing Unique Perspective on Baltimore and National Issues". Today News Africa. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kim Klacik to Host Late Mornings at WCBM, Baltimore". Talkers Magazine. April 27, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "Maryland Republican Party - Local Central Committees". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  14. ^ Betz, Bradford (July 27, 2019). "GOP strategist calls Elijah Cummings' district 'most dangerous' in America". Fox News. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Parker, Ashley; Dawsey, Josh; Costa, Robert (July 30, 2019). "'Looking for a reason to attack': How Trump seized on a Fox News broadcast to go after Cummings". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  16. ^ "Baltimore County Republican's tweets may have prompted Trump's tweets on Baltimore". WBAL-TV. July 31, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  17. ^ Elfrink, Tim; Wagner, John (July 30, 2019). "Trump lashes out anew at Rep. Cummings and the 'corrupt' city he represents, says Baltimore residents have thanked him". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  18. ^ Baker, Peter (July 27, 2020). "Trump Assails Elijah Cummings, Calling His Congressional District a Rat-Infested 'Mess'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  19. ^ Baker, Peter (July 28, 2020). "Trump Accuses Black Congressman and Allies of Being Racist, Deepening Feud". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  20. ^ Broadwater, Luke (July 30, 2019). "Kimberly Klacik sparked a Trump tweetstorm, raised the ire of Baltimore leaders ... and gained 60,000 followers". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Official 2020 Special General Election results for Representative in Congress". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. May 12, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  22. ^ "Maryland 7th Congressional district special general results". The Washington Post. April 28, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020. No Republican has ever represented Maryland's 7th congressional district, which includes most of the city of Baltimore.
  23. ^ "2020 Presidential Primary Dates and Candidate Filing Deadlines for Ballett Access" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  24. ^ a b "Official 2020 Presidential Primary Election results for Representative in Congress". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 2, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  25. ^ Meara, Paul (August 20, 2020). "Trump Endorses Black GOP Candidate Kim Klacik Who's Running For Elijah Cummings' Former Maryland District". BET.
  26. ^ a b "Black Lives Don't Matter To Democrats". YouTube. August 23, 2020.
  27. ^ "Baltimore Republican House Candidate Kimberly Klacik Viral Campaign Ad: Democrats Have Failed Baltimore, Black People". RealClearPolitics. August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  28. ^ Nelson, Steven (August 18, 2020). "Baltimore Republican Kim Klacik shows 'reality for black people' in viral ad". New York Post. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  29. ^ Klar, Rebecca (August 18, 2020). "Republican running for Elijah Cummings's seat goes viral with Black Lives Matter ad". The Hill. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  30. ^ a b c Lee, Rebecca (August 25, 2020). "Kim Klacik: Investigating Her Viral Campaign Ad Touring Baltimore's Streets". Snopes. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  31. ^ Montgomery, Peter (August 24, 2020). "Team Trump Turns Losing Candidate Into Right-Wing Media Star and RNC Speaker With Video Claiming 'Black Lives Don't Matter to Democrats'". Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  32. ^ ""They're rightly afraid of me." Kim Klacik with Sebastian Gorka on AMERICA First". America First Sebastian Gorka. August 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020. At 2:33 Klacik states that the video was proposed by Johnson, at 3:08 that Johnson proposed the segment about defunding the police
  33. ^ Gessler, Paul (August 18, 2020). "Kimberly Klacik's New Ad Draws National Attention For 7th District Race, But A Johns Hopkins Political Scientist Says Odds Are Still Long For Republican Win". CBS Baltimore.
  34. ^ Elbeshbishi, Sarah; Cummings, William (August 20, 2020). "Who will speak at the RNC? What we know about the newly released lineup". USA Today. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  35. ^ "In RNC Speech, Kimberly Klacik Takes Aim At Democrats: 'We're Not Buying The Lies Anymore'". CBS Baltimore. August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  36. ^ Barker, Jeff (September 24, 2020). "Mfume says Klacik 'doesn't know' Baltimore and misspelled it in campaign spot". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  37. ^ a b "Maryland Election Results: Seventh Congressional District". The New York Times. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  38. ^ a b "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  39. ^ a b Waldman, Tyler (November 9, 2020). "Without evidence and despite concession, Klacik claims campaign will 'investigate' election fraud". WBAL (AM). Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  40. ^ a b Ingram, Brandon (November 10, 2020). "Kim Klacik says she will investigate her loss to Kweisi Mfume". WMAR 2 News. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  41. ^ @kimKBaltimore (November 8, 2020). "Agreed. I beat my opponent on day of & in-person early voting, along with absentee. However, 97k mail in ballots were found in his favor? Luckily, we raised enough money to investigate" (Tweet). Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Siders, David (December 13, 2020). "Trump unleashes an army of sore losers". Politico. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  43. ^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  44. ^ Barker, Jeff (November 9, 2020). "'We raised enough money to investigate,' Klacik tweets, alleging irregularities in votes for Baltimore Rep. Mfume". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  45. ^ Flynn, Meagan; Scherer, Michael (March 3, 2021). "Donors gave a House candidate more than $8 million. A single firm took nearly half of it". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  46. ^ Barker, Jeff (March 5, 2021). "The price of fame: records show Kim Klacik paid a whopping $4M to consultants in U.S. House bid in Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via MSN.
  47. ^ Lee, John (February 8, 2024). "Klacik joins race in Maryland's 2nd Congressional District". WYPR. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  48. ^ Kushner, Kelsey (October 22, 2024). "Kimberly Klacik shares top priorities in push for U.S. Congress seat". WJZ-TV. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  49. ^ Streicher, Maxine (October 22, 2024). "Kim Klacik says this run for congress is different". WBFF. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  50. ^ Boteler, Cody (May 14, 2024). "Olszewski will face Klacik in 2nd District; Mfume, Harris win primaries". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  51. ^ Nguyen, Danny (October 24, 2024). "Could Johnny Olszewski finish his climb to Congress?". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  52. ^ Nguyen, Danny (November 6, 2024). "Olszewski clinches victory in Baltimore-area congressional race". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  53. ^ Klacik, Kimberly (January 12, 2024). "Tweet". X. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  54. ^ Baragona, Justin (December 9, 2022). "Failed GOP Candidate Ordered to Pay $115,000 to Candace Owens". The Daily Beast.
  55. ^ "Official 2020 7th Congressional District Special Primary Election results for Representative in Congress". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. February 21, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
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