David Trone Announces He'll Run for Congress

Total Wine & More co-owner trying again for a local seat

August 2, 2017 7:58 a.m.

David Trone will make another run for a seat in Congress.

The Potomac Democrat and co-owner of Total Wine & More announced Wednesday morning that he’ll pursue the District 6 seat being vacated by Rep. John Delaney, who is running for president.

In a video posted to his website, Trone described Delaney, who is in the middle of his third term, as a good friend and said he would “pick up right where John leaves off.”

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Trone, who lives just outside the 6th district, said he would oppose the Trump administration and work to “fight Congress’s attempts to gut health care, women’s rights, education, the environment and Social Security.”

According to the U.S. Constitution, representatives in Congress must live in the state they represent, but do not have to live in the district.

The bid will be Trone’s second attempt to win a seat in the House of Representatives. Last year, he placed second in the Democratic primary for the District 8 Congressional seat won by Rep. Jamie Raskin. Trone spent more than $13 million of his personal fortune on that race—the most ever by a self-funded House candidate.

In the video, Trone said he would once again not accept campaign contributions from corporations, lobbyists or PACs—a pledge he made during his first run.

“I don’t want to be their congressman. I want to be yours,” Trone said.

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His announcement ends speculation about whether Trone might run for Montgomery County executive, which he had said he was considering.

Trone and his brother Robert started Total Wine & More in 1991. The company has since grown into a national retailer with 162 stores in 20 states and more than 4,000 employees. In 2015, when the company moved its headquarters to Bethesda, Trone said the private company had $2.1 billion in annual revenue.

Trone will likely be facing off against Dels. Bill Frick (D-Bethesda) and Aruna Miller (D-Darnestown) and state Sen. Roger Manno (D-Silver Spring) in the Democratic primary. Both Frick and Miller have started fundraising for the race, with Miller raising $350,000 and Frick reporting more than $200,000 in contributions since launching their fundraising efforts in the spring.

Republicans considering entering the race include Amie Hoeber, who lost to Delaney in last year’s general election, as well as Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Secretary Kelly Schulz, a former Frederick County delegate.

The 6th District stretches from Potomac, through part of Frederick County, and includes all of the Western Maryland panhandle.

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It’s home to about 750,000 residents and leans Democratic. Hillary Clinton beat President Donald Trump in the district by 15 points in November. Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney by 12 points in the district in 2012.

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