Author and former non-profit chief Wes Moore raised nearly $5 million over the past seven months, his campaign for Maryland governor said Thursday — a sizable sum that offers a first peek at how the money game will shape the state’s wide-open Democratic primary.

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       Moore, a first-time candidate, raised $4.8 million and had $3.1 million on hand to spend in the 10-way race for the Democratic nomination, according to his campaign, which has not yet released his full campaign finance report ahead of next week’s deadline.

       But the top-line numbers far exceed the $1.2 million that the eventual 2018 Democratic nominee, Ben Jealous, raised ahead of that primary race. And early reports from other candidates suggest Moore may be leading the current sprawling field.

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       Democrats are seeking to reclaim the governor’s mansion from Republicans, who have won three of the past five gubernatorial elections despite Democrats’ 2-to-1 registration advantage. Independents comprise about 20 percent of Maryland’s electorate and have been growing in recent years.

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       Early voting in the primary will begin June 16. Full campaign reports for all candidates’ fundraising for 2021 through Jan. 10 are due by midnight Wednesday.

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       Tom Perez, a former Obama administration and Maryland labor secretary, said Thursday he had raised $2.7 million during that period. He launched his campaign six months ago and has $1.5 million on hand.

       “In just over six months, we have built a strong coalition to win the primary and flip Maryland from red to blue in this critical race,” Perez, also a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

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       The campaign of Jon Baron, a former nonprofit executive who refused to take money from lobbyists or corporations, said he would report a fundraising haul of more than $2 million, with $1.7 million on hand, raised from donors and “a personal investment from Jon Baron and his wife, Jessica.”

       Maryland’s campaign landscape changed significantly after the 2014 election, when lawmakers closed the so-called “LLC loophole” that let a single donor give the maximum donation under multiple LLC’s.

       “I am so humbled by the grassroots Army of supporters we have seen grow so quickly," Moore said in a statement.