Two wealthy Maryland Democrats who were once political allies are locked in one of the nation’s most expensive House primary races, with more than $33 million spent ahead of voting today in the 6th Congressional District.
Incumbent Rep. April McClain Delaney and former Rep. David Trone, both self-funding their campaigns from personal wealth, have turned the race into a bitter battle marked by mutual accusations and personal attacks. The two candidates have combined to raise nearly $34.8 million this cycle, with $32.8 million — or 94% of the total — supplied through personal loans or contributions, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
Trone, co-founder of the national liquor retailer Total Wine & More, has invested $25 million in his comeback bid to reclaim the seat he held for three terms before running for Senate in 2024. McClain Delaney, whose husband’s Forbright Bank went public earlier this month in a $900 million offering, has loaned her campaign $7.4 million. The race exceeds the spending in the most expensive House race of 2024 by nearly $10 million, according to OpenSecrets data.
The two were not always adversaries. Before the campaign turned combative, they endorsed each other, donated to each other, and campaigned together. McClain Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, even helped Trone win his first election to Congress. Trone endorsed McClain Delaney when he vacated the seat to run for Senate in 2024. After losing that Senate primary to Angela Alsobrooks, Trone announced his comeback bid against the incumbent.
The shift from alliance to antagonism has been stark. “This race is the weirdest thing I’ve ever worked on,” one campaign staffer told the Washington Post, speaking on condition of anonymity. McClain Delaney called Trone “a bored billionaire” and said his campaign was “a freakin’ waste” of money. Trone countered that the seat is not McClain Delaney’s to keep simply because she won it once.
The candidates have sparred over votes and policy. Trone has criticized McClain Delaney for voting for the Laken Riley Act, which expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s authority to detain people without criminal records, and for voting on a provision that made it more expensive for female service members to pay for out-of-state abortions — votes other Democrats in the Maryland delegation did not take. McClain Delaney fired back with a $1.3 million ad buy linking Trone to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and constitutional convention proposals, accusing him of empowering “the radical right” on abortion and LGBTQ+ issues. Trone, who donated to establish an abortion clinic in Western Maryland, called the attacks “a boldface lie.”
Both candidates have emphasized their personal wealth as a qualification. Trone has argued that self-funding insulates him from special interests and that his business experience makes him suited for Congress. McClain Delaney, a telecommunications attorney and former Commerce Department official in the Biden administration, has raised about $1.1 million from outside donors and committees, roughly 3 in 10 dollars of which came from various PACs. Trone reported less than $187,000 in individual contributions beyond his personal loans.
Trone ranks among the nation’s most prolific self-financing candidates, having loaned his campaigns more than $107 million across all races since 2016. In 2024, his failed $60 million Senate bid made him the year’s top self-funding candidate. However, he has recovered only a small portion of those loans, repaying just $3.2 million — most of it on a single day in December 2022, after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for larger repayments. McClain Delaney has not reimbursed herself for any of her campaign loans.
The spending in Maryland’s 6th District primary comes amid a broader national trend. In 2024, 33 federal candidates self-funded their campaigns with at least $2 million, up from 26 in 2022 and 17 in 2020, according to OpenSecrets data. The Kentucky Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District, decided in May 2026, became the most expensive House primary in history at roughly $35 million, with pro-Israel groups spending heavily to defeat Trump critic Rep. Thomas Massie. Maryland’s race is among the most expensive, driven almost entirely by the two candidates’ personal resources rather than grassroots support or outside spending.
Voters in the 6th District, which stretches from Washington’s northwest suburbs to the West Virginia border and has a largely balanced party split, will decide the Democratic nominee today. The general election remains five months away.
Sources
- The Washington Post — detailed reporting on the candidates’ personal history, spending, policy disputes, and interviews with both Trone and McClain Delaney
- OpenSecrets — Federal Election Commission analysis showing combined fundraising of $34.8 million, personal loans totaling $32.8 million (94% of total), and historical self-funding trends
- WJLA — confirmation of the June 23 primary date, candidate statements on their campaigns, and district coverage
