By Adam Pagnucco.
Confirming a story that had been rumored for months, former Congressman David Trone has announced a primary challenge against his successor, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. This got campaign vendors, who stand to make a lot of money from the two self-funders, licking their chops while insiders picked sides, mostly with Delaney. But here’s my question, and a question that should be on the minds of Sixth District Democrats:
What’s the difference?
As the challenger, Trone must make the case that he is different than Delaney – and preferably superior – and that Delaney has committed a firing offense. After all, voters who have previously voted for an incumbent start with the default position of voting for that incumbent again unless given sound reason to do otherwise. While Trone’s announcement did not mention Delaney, he said this to the Washington Post:
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He also rattled off a list of McClain Delaney’s votes that he argues allied her more with MAGA and Republicans than Maryland Democrats, who all voted differently from how she did. Among the most prominent: her support for the Laken Riley Act, which lets the government detain undocumented immigrants accused but not convicted of crimes.
“It was a really horrendous bill and, you know, not one other person in the Maryland delegation was with MAGA and with Trump but the incumbent,” Trone said. “I can’t understand that. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Trone said he hasn’t asked McClain Delaney why she voted for that bill or the others he listed, which will become the centerpiece of his argument against her reelection.
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I reported on Delaney’s vote for the Laken Riley Act when she cast it last January, but how many voters know what that is? And even if Trone were to sink $10 million into telling them, would they care?
If Trone’s message is that Delaney works with Republicans too much, he’s a poor messenger for that. According to GovTrack, which tracks the voting records of members of Congress, Trone was one of the most bipartisan Democrats in the House during his final two years in office. In the past, Trone has cast this as a virtue. Two years ago, when Trone was running for Senate, Maryland Matters printed this:
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Trone said he believes his reputation for bipartisanship will also impress voters — in Baltimore and in every corner of the state. In 2022, the Common Ground Committee, a nonpartisan organization working to reduce political polarization and incivility, ranked Trone as the 12th most bipartisan member of the 535-member Congress.
Trone said he has found common ground with dozens of House Republicans — “except for the 20 or so who are bat— crazy” — and ticks off a list of GOP senators he figures he could work with if he winds up serving in the upper chamber.
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I’m not disparaging Trone for this. In the Sixth District, this is both a virtue and a necessity given the relatively even split between left-wing and right-wing voters. But if Trone is now saying that working with Republicans is a bad thing, well… this is a very different Trone than the one I remember.
The truth is that Delaney and Trone are rather similar. Both are self-funding, centrist Democrats who live outside the Sixth District but ideologically fit the seat well. What’s the difference?
I like David Trone. I really do. He has an inspiring life story, having built a business empire from nothing. When he characterizes himself as a fighter, he’s right about that. And if I were looking for a gladiator to battle for me in the arena of politics, he would be a great pick. I’m also tickled that he owes nothing to the Democratic establishment, most of whom threw him under the bus when he unsuccessfully ran for Senate against Angela Alsobrooks.
But let’s get real. Trone says his run is about standing up against Trump. If that were his true motivation, he could do far more damage to MAGA by setting up a self-funding Super PAC to run negative ads against Republicans in swing districts than to topple a fellow Democrat.
As for the Republicans, they are the true winners of this primary. Trone and Delaney will now spend tens of millions of dollars bashing each other on the campaign trail – money that the GOP now won’t have to spend. The race will also draw in left-wing interest groups who could otherwise use their resources to target the GOP.
And the GOP loves this. It’s rare good news for them in what could otherwise be a tough year. Check out the image below now making the rounds of the Montgomery County Republican Party.
So yeah, what’s the difference here? This seems like little more than a contest between non-resident plutocrats fighting over a crumbling throne in the decaying wasteland otherwise known as the U.S. Capitol.