Former Rep.David Trone, D-Md., fell short in his comeback bid to return to Congress after pouring millions of his personal fortune into the race to unseat an incumbent Democrat. Rep.
April McClain Delaney, D-Md., defeated Trone on Tuesday in a bruising primary battle for a gerrymandered House seat in western Maryland, according to The Associated Press. The intraparty contest was one of the costliest primaries of the 2026 cycle, with more than $32 million spent between both candidates, who had considerable wealth at their disposal to boost their respective campaigns.It is unclear whether total spending eclipsed the Kentucky primary battle that resulted in the defeat of Rep.Thomas Massie, R-Ky., which recently earned the title of the nation's most expensive House primary. Rep.
April McClain Delaney, D-Md., speaks during a rally outside National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., on March 3, 2025, opposing recent worker firings.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)DHS FIRES BACK AFTER DEM BILLIONAIRE DAVID TRONE CLAIMS ICE IS ‘EXECUTING PEOPLE’Trone, the billionaire founder of the alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, put more than $25 million of his wealth into the race.
Delaney, a freshman lawmaker who served in the Biden administration, spent at least $7 million of her own money to fend off Trone’s primary challenge for a second House term. She previously served in the Biden administration as a political appointee in the Commerce Department.Though both candidates had few policy differences, Trone sharply criticized Delaney for voting for the GOP-authored Laken Riley Act in early 2025.Delaney later said she regretted supporting the law, which requires the detention of illegal immigrants accused or convicted of certain crimes. Delaney also denounced Trone for touting support from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an advertisement focused on his defense of abortion rights, despite not receiving a formal en...