Gov. Wes Moore won Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial primary last night, securing his party’s nomination for a second term, as expensive House contests unfolded across the state in a primary election that saw record-breaking spending in at least one congressional race.
Moore faced only a minor primary challenge from Eric Felber, a Bethesda physician, but the gubernatorial race was overshadowed by the costliest Democratic House primary in U.S. history playing out in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. April McClain Delaney defeated former Rep. David Trone with 44.7 percent of the vote to his 39.9 percent, according to NBC News.
The Maryland 6th race shattered spending records for a House primary, with approximately $33 million poured into the contest by the two wealthy candidates themselves. Trone, a wine mogul, loaned his campaign $25 million as of early June, according to HuffPost. McClain Delaney, a millionaire businesswoman, loaned her campaign $7.4 million and was planning to contribute an additional $5 million.
The two candidates were once friendly. Both represented the district or are married to those who did: Trone served in Congress from 2019 to 2025 before running unsuccessfully for Senate, while McClain Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, previously held the seat before his own unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid. But they spent the primary savaging each other over immigration policy and reproductive rights, with Trone’s campaign centered on McClain Delaney’s vote for the Laken Riley Act, a bill requiring detention of immigrants arrested for theft or shoplifting.
McClain Delaney acknowledged the vote was a valid criticism but said it was made during her first weeks in Congress and when she was unsure how the Department of Homeland Security would implement the policy. “That’s like the only thing he has,” she told HuffPost. “Most of us who had just come in were in more purple districts.”
Trone, meanwhile, cast himself as the champion of reproductive rights and women’s equality, funding a women’s health clinic that performs abortions and spending more than $1 million on ads highlighting the donation, according to HuffPost. He also released an ad featuring a letter from Hillary Clinton praising his record on women’s issues, though Clinton has not endorsed either candidate.
The 6th District, which stretches from wealthy D.C. suburbs to western Maryland, is one of eight Democratic primary races in the state. Eight candidates competed in the Democratic primary, but McClain Delaney and Trone’s spending drowned out all others. Another candidate, Alexis Goldstein, warned that deferring to billionaires has produced poor results, pointing to Elon Musk’s recent cuts to federal programs.
The Maryland primary election on June 23 also featured other expensive House races, though none approached the spending in the 6th District. The primary set the stage for November’s general election, where Moore will seek to hold the governorship in a deeply Democratic state.
Sources
- FOX 5 DC — Wes Moore’s victory in the Democratic gubernatorial primary
- NBC News — Maryland House District 6 primary results showing McClain Delaney at 44.7% and Trone at 39.9%
- HuffPost — $33 million spending figure, Trone’s $25 million loan, McClain Delaney’s $7.4 million loan and planned $5 million contribution, and quotes from both candidates
- The Washington Post — Context on the relationship between McClain Delaney and Trone, their personal wealth, and the nature of their attacks
