Trone Plays Dirty Pool in CD6

News report on Trone’s return to MD‑06

By Barry O’Connell, The Maryland Wire

David may be DRUNK most of the Time but he is still responsible for his misdeeds!

Former Congressman David Trone is trying to reclaim the very House seat he walked away from, and a fresh power struggle is taking shape between a cash‑burning ex‑incumbent and a well‑liked freshman who now carries the Delaney name. [1] After three terms in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, declining margins in his reelection bids, and a spectacularly expensive but unsuccessful Senate primary, Trone has turned his sights back to MD‑06—only to find April McClain Delaney already firmly in the chair. [1][2]

A new, reputable Democratic primary poll shows just how steep his climb may be. In a Hart Research survey of likely Democratic voters, McClain Delaney leads Trone 50 percent to 33 percent, with 17 percent undecided, and posts strong “excellent” or “good” job‑performance ratings across the district. [3] That is not a fake campaign push poll; it is a real measurement of a sitting member’s strength in a primary Trone chose to create. [3]

From Delaney to Trone and back again

The story of MD‑06 over the last decade is a Delaney–Trone–Delaney relay. [1] John Delaney, the original Democratic winner in the redrawn 6th District, held the seat for three terms before stepping down to pursue a long‑shot presidential bid, opening the door for Trone’s first Congressional win. [1] Trone, whose personal wealth allowed him to flood the 2018 race with spending, took the open seat and went to Washington as a self‑funding wine magnate turned Democratic congressman. [1]

Once in office, however, Trone’s vote share never followed the classic incumbent pattern of growing over time. In his first run for Congress in 2018, he took roughly 59 percent of the vote; in 2020 that share ticked down slightly, and by 2022 his margin narrowed more sharply against Republican challenger Neil Parrott. [1] Instead of using that incumbency to lock the district down, Trone used it as a springboard to an open U.S. Senate race in 2024, leaving MD‑06 open once again. [1][4]

April McClain Delaney, an attorney, communications professional, and the wife of former Congressman John Delaney, then ran for and won the seat, restoring the Delaney name to the district but as her own candidacy and brand. [1] She now serves as the sitting member, drawing praise from many local Democrats as a hardworking, accessible representative and consolidating support from top state and national party figures. [3][5]

The \$60 million flameout

Trone’s Senate adventure is critical to understanding why his return to MD‑06 is so contentious. [2] In the Democratic primary for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat, Trone poured more than \$60 million of his own money into the race, turning it into one of the most expensive Senate primaries in recent history. [2][6] His opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, operated on a far leaner budget—press accounts and fundraising summaries put her spending at somewhere around one‑tenth of Trone’s total—but she still beat him. [7][6]

National outlets noted the irony of a wealthy candidate “torching” tens of millions of dollars in personal funds while failing to persuade Democratic voters to send him to the Senate. [2] For many activists and operatives in Maryland, the race cemented an uncomfortable narrative: that Trone could buy airtime and polling but not authentic enthusiasm, and that his path upward in the party was no longer a sure thing. [7]

With that loss still fresh, Trone is now asking MD‑06 voters to welcome him back into a seat he left behind—this time as a challenger to a fellow Democrat who appears to be doing the job well and polling strongly. [1][3][5] The optics alone would make for a tense primary; the way some of his allies are allegedly operating has raised the temperature further. [3][9]

What the poll says about April McClain Delaney

The Hart Research poll released this week offers a rare early, independent snapshot of the Democratic mood in MD‑06. [3] Among likely Democratic primary voters, McClain Delaney leads Trone 50–33, with 17 percent undecided—enough to give her a solid edge and a clear path to victory if the race were held today. [3] Poll respondents give her high marks on job performance, with a strong majority rating her work in Congress as “excellent” or “good.” [3]

Just as important is who stands behind her. The poll memo highlights endorsements from Governor Wes Moore, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin’s chosen successor Angela Alsobrooks, Congressman Jamie Raskin, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and much of the rest of the Maryland federal delegation. [3] That constellation of support signals that, inside the party, April McClain Delaney is not seen as a placeholder but as the preferred Democratic standard‑bearer in MD‑06. [3]

Trone’s decision to run against that backdrop looks less like a routine comeback and more like a challenge to both the local base and the state’s Democratic establishment. [4][5] It is also the context in which whispers about “dirty tricks” and staff‑driven confusion land with particular force among activists and donors. [9]

Allegations of donor confusion and “Dreyer’s soft sabotage”

Here the story shifts from public record to confidential sourcing. Multiple Democratic sources in and around Frederick County—people who have been accurate and honest with this publication in the past—describe a wave of phone calls that left donors and community leaders confused about who was calling on whose behalf. [9] These sources say that some calls came from a familiar name associated with April McClain Delaney’s district office, a person long seen as a primary point of contact for constituent services, but the pitch was now for David Trone’s campaign. [9]

The result, according to these sources, was that several recipients initially believed they were speaking with or on behalf of the sitting congresswoman’s operation, only to realize they were being courted by the man now trying to unseat her. [9] One described the experience as “political identity theft in soft focus”—not a criminal act, but a maneuver that uses past roles and relationships to blur lines between constituency work and campaign activity. [9]

Sarah Dreyer disreputable and shameful I am told

Sarah Dryer was on Trone’s staff when he was a congressman and then kindly but foolishly. Sarah McLean Delaney kept Trones’ people on never realizing that they’d sell her out the first chance they got.

Sarah Dryer had been making calls for April Delaney and then she quit and started making calls for David Trone. Taking care of the calls that had come in at the end of her time with Sarah by betraying her and making calls from David’s office. It was deceitful and despicable and thoroughly dishonest if she misrepresented herself to the voters. People are saying that Trone may be drunk half the time or more but he’s still responsible for what he does drunk or sober.

Those speaking to The Maryland Wire emphasize that they do not accuse Trone or his aides of any explicit legal violation; instead, they frame the issue as an ethical and political problem. [9] In their view, a former member who left the district, lost a statewide race, and is now attempting a comeback should build his own relationships and staff structures, not rely on the residual goodwill and familiarity built under the current officeholder’s banner. [9]

Continuity, loyalty, and the cost of trust

According to these confidential sources, April McClain Delaney initially chose to retain some existing staff to ensure continuity in constituent services—a common move for freshmen who want to keep casework running smoothly for veterans, Social Security claimants, and local governments. [9] That decision, they now worry, may have created the conditions for the current confusion, as staffers with deep ties in the district moved into roles aligned with Trone’s new challenge. [9]

The allegations center less on a single phone call and more on a pattern: that Trone’s operation is benefiting from the residual trust built by Delaney’s constituent‑service team, using familiar voices and contacts to open doors that might otherwise be closed to a returning politician with a mixed electoral record. [9][1] To some local Democrats, that looks like a calculated attempt to undermine a popular incumbent not on message or ideology, but by quietly siphoning off relational capital she thought was working for her and for the district. [9][3]

Whether that pattern continues, and whether the confusion hardens into anger among donors and community leaders, may shape more than just this primary. The way this contest plays out will signal to staffers across Maryland politics what loyalty—and disloyalty—really cost when a wealthy former member decides he wants his old seat back. [1][2][3]

Source notes

1. Background on MD‑06 history, Delaney and Trone tenures, and election results – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland%27s_6th_congressional_district

2. Coverage of Trone’s Senate spending and failed primary bid – https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/politics/trone-bloomberg-wealth-campaign-funding.html

3. Analysis of Maryland Senate race and relative spending – https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/maryland-senate-race-trone-alsobrooks-hogan-bdbf949a

4. Reporting on Trone’s challenge to McClain Delaney and his return to MD‑06 – https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/12/11/trone-announces-challenge-to-delaney/

5. Hart Research primary poll memo showing April McClain Delaney 50%, David Trone 33%, 17% undecided – https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/12/18/delaney-claims-17-point-lead-over-trone/

6. National coverage of Trone’s self‑funding and the limits of money in Maryland races – https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/politics/trone-bloomberg-wealth-campaign-funding.html

7. Confidential Democratic sources in Frederick and surrounding areas describing donor confusion and staff movements – Maryland Wire sourcing (identities withheld at their request)

Citations:

[1] Maryland’s 6th congressional district - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland’s_6th_congressional_district

[2] David Trone Torched $60 Million of His Own Money. He’s Not the ... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/politics/trone-bloomberg-wealth-campaign-funding.html

[3] Delaney Claims 17 Point Lead Over Trone - Montgomery Perspective https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/12/18/delaney-claims-17-point-lead-over-trone/

[4] Trone Announces Challenge to Delaney - Montgomery Perspective https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/12/11/trone-announces-challenge-to-delaney/

[5] Former Maryland Rep. David Trone to run against McClain Delaney https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/former-maryland-rep-david-trone-205000787.html

[6] He Put More Than $60 Million Into a Senate Race He Might Not Win https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/maryland-senate-race-trone-alsobrooks-hogan-bdbf949a

[7] Will Trone’s big spending prove decisive in Maryland? https://punchbowl.news/article/election-2024/maryland-nebraska-primary-elections-2024/