Trone Boosts Campaign With $4.5 Million From His Own Pocket
A cash infusion has left congressional candidate David J. Trone with a considerable war chest heading into the final weeks of the 2018 election.
Trone (D) donated $1.5 million to his campaign and loaned it an additional $3 million during the last quarter, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday night. Trone, the founder and CEO of Total Wine & More, has given or loaned his campaign for the 6th District congressional seat just under $16 million this election cycle, according to campaign filings.
He heads into the final weeks of the campaign with considerably more cash on hand — a little less than $3.1 million — than Republican Amie Hoeber, who reported about $132,683 in the bank.
Hoeber made a more modest, by comparison, donation to her campaign this quarter of $300,000.
She reported an additional $98,765 in contributions from individuals and $18,700 from political action committees.
Trone and Hoeber and are battling for the seat currently held by Rep. John K. Delaney (D), who is leaving Congress to run for president in 2020.The 6th District runs from western Montgomery County into the panhandle of Maryland.
Constance A. Morella, who once represented a portion of the district as U.S. Representative for the 8th District, donated $250 to Hoeber. And Ellen R. Sauerbrey, former minority leader for the Maryland House of Delegates and a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, donated $250 as well.
Hoeber spent $367,863.92 in the quarter, including $23,500 for public opinion polling and $211, 676 for TV advertising.
Trone received $36,283 in donations from individual donors, including $5,400 from Ted Leonsis, who owns the Washington Capitals, and his wife Lynn.
Trone’s campaign spent more than $1.7 million during the quarter including more than $320,000 on television advertising and $44,600 on polling. Other big sums went to campaign strategists and mailings and digital advertising.
Hoeber’s campaign has also been boosted by outside spending this election cycle. Outside groups have funded more than $1 million in independent expenditures supporting Hoeber and an additional $125,000 opposing Trone. The groups include the Value In Electing Women PAC and Defending Main Street Super PAC, conservative groups which have spent the most on the race, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Trone recently returned to the campaign trail after treatment for cancer, including surgical removal of a kidney on Sept. 11.
The candidates will debate twice next week — on Tuesday in Gaithersburg and Wednesday in Washington County.
Trone spent $13 million two years ago in an unsuccessful bid to represent the 8th congressional district, losing the Democratic primary to now-Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Danielle E. Gaines
Contributor
Danielle Gaines worked for Maryland Matters from September 2018 to January 2024. She covered government and politics for Maryland Matters for two years before moving into an editing position, ultimately serving as editor-in-chief for nearly three years. Previously, she spent six years at The Frederick News-Post ― as the paper’s principal government and politics reporter for half that time, covering courts and legal affairs before that. She also reported for the now-defunct The Gazette of Politics and Business in Maryland and previously worked as a county government and education reporter at The Merced Sun-Star in California’s Central Valley.
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