David Trone’s family has spent $113,550 in Maryland campaign contributions since the start of 2025.
Two-thirds of that money landed in the campaign accounts of elected officials who live in or represent Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, where Trone is challenging incumbent Rep. April McClain Delaney in the June 2026 Democratic primary.
Mr. Trone and the family’s money achieved its specific purpose: Silence.
A quick preamble: I am not important to these politicians – at all. They don’t care what I write, and they probably don’t read this site, either. They probably have no clue who I am. Probably a good thing. A Miner Detail isn’t always the favorite Maryland political site among the political class – I get it.
I recognize that I now have personal business interests in Frederick County – and I have no doubt that this article could very well derail a fundamentally wonderful strategy to help older adults in Frederick County. Politicians don’t like articles like these. I’m not worried, however. But I do need to acknowledge how the world operates.
I have this platform, A Miner Detail; it’s small, but we can sing. I’m using this hand-built 11-year-old platform because I feel strongly about this particular congressional race. I believe in my heart that David Trone is really kind of a jerk. Journalistically, I’m not supposed to say that. But it’s how I feel. I respect David Trone’s hustle and his business success. I dislike, very much, however, the way Mr. Trone operates. I’ve voted for him in the past and thought he was a decent member of Congress, but he throws around money most obnoxiously – in a way that’s harmful to democracy.
And the politicians who trash David Trone behind closed doors, behind his back, YET still accept his money – you’re even worse.
The Trone Family Money Operation: $113,550 Across 50 Recipients
David Trone, his soon-to-be ex-wife, June Trone, his brother Robert, Robert’s wife Anna Marie Parisi-Trone, and David’s adult children: what do they all have in common – outside of wondering why Papa Trone spent $62.9 million of his kids’ inheritance?
My Dad doesn’t have that kind of money, but if he did and wasted it as Trone did, I think I’d be pissed.
The always-giving Trone Family of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Beverly Hills, California, is handing out political fun coupons to a select group of Maryland political officeholders. David Trone’s campaign committees also transferred money to local Democratic central committees.
The total: 65 transactions to 50 recipients in the 2025-2026 cycle alone.
Of that $113,550, roughly $74,000 went directly to officials in the 6th Congressional District. For you math kids, that’s 65 cents per dollar, targeted at the political ecosystem of a single congressional race.
Frederick County: David Trone’s Money Tells the Whole Story
The Frederick County Democratic endorsement split in this cycle’s CD-6 primary is a clean X-ray of what Trone money does to political spines.
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater has received $42,500 from the Trone family over multiple cycles. Check the campaign reports. That’s how I arrived at this number.
On October 31, 2025, four Trone family members – Julia, Michelle, Robert J., and Natalie – each wrote Jessica Fitzwater a $6,000 check on the same day. That’s $24,000, in a single afternoon, to a term-limited county executive who cannot run again.
Here’s what that is for the Frederick County executive: Trone’s money, his family money – it’s a future investment in her public pronouncements that she’s eyeing a run for state comptroller in 2030 or beyond. Her future comptroller bid is Maryland’s worst-kept secret. She wants Trone’s sugar bank to keep the ol spigot a’workin!
- Jessica Fitzwater, a shoo-in for re-election to a second term this fall, endorsed David Trone over April McClain Delaney just a few days ago.
- And Frederick County Council President Brad Young has received $12,000 from the Trone family over the last few years. Mr. Young also endorsed David Trone.
- And at-large Frederick County Councilmember Renee Knapp has received $10,000 from the Trone family. She endorsed Trone.
On the other side: Frederick County Councilmembers Kavonté Duckett, M.C. Keegan-Ayer, and Jerry Donald all endorsed McClain Delaney. Former Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner endorsed McClain Delaney. State Delegate Karen Simpson endorsed McClain Delaney. Not one of them appears on the Trone family contribution list in this cycle.
Incidentally, Renee Knapp‘s endorsement of David Trone this cycle deserves its own scrutiny.
On November 17, 2025, McClain Delaney posted on Facebook that she had attended an event supporting Knapp’s re-election campaign to the Frederick County Council, calling Knapp “remarkable” and praising her “compassion for service and her love for her community.”
Two weeks before McClain Delaney’s complimentary post, on November 3, 2025, Robert J. Trone had already written a $6,000 check to Knapp. She took the sitting congresswoman’s personal support, cashed Trone’s check, and endorsed the man trying to take her job.
Politicians, man.
The Silence That David Trone’s Money Buys in 2026
The most revealing category in this strange cycle that’s emerging is not who endorsed Trone or who endorsed McClain Delaney; it is who has gone completely quiet.
At least eight elected officials representing parts of the 6th Congressional District accepted Trone family contributions in this cycle and have endorsed neither candidate as of March 15, 2026
State Senator Karen Lewis Young of Frederick received $6,000 from David Trone on January 13, 2026. Karen Lewis Young endorsed McClain Delaney for this same seat in 2024. She proposed legislation requiring a statewide study on the environmental impacts of data centers, which Governor Moore vetoed. She is now silent on the CD-6 race.
Did the $6,000 buy the erasure of her previous endorsement of the sitting congresswoman? I asked Karen Lewis Young in person in Annapolis in January this year. She said no.
- State Delegate Lesley Lopez of Germantown received $6,000 from David Trone on December 8, 2025. Silent.
- State Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo of Boyds received $4,500 from David and Robert Trone on January 14, 2026. Silent.
- State Delegate Greg Wims received $4,000 from David Trone on January 14, 2026. Silent.
- State Delegate Kris Fair of Frederick received $4,000 from David Trone on January 13, 2026. Silent.
- Delegate Linda Foley of Potomac received $4,000 from David Trone on January 14, 2026. Silent.
- Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman received $3,000 from several members of the Trone family in November and December 2025. Silent.
- Gaithersburg Councilmember Jim McNulty received $2,000 from four Trone family members on December 31, 2025. Silent.
That is $34,500 in contributions to eight officials who will not tell their own constituents, the voters of the 6th Congressional District, who they think should represent them in Congress.
Jud Ashman and Jim McNulty: Are They Gaming the System?
Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and City Councilmember Jim McNulty deserve particular attention this year.
Both men are running for the Montgomery County Council this cycle using Montgomery County’s public financing system, a program specifically designed to reduce the influence of wealthy donors.
The Trone family’s workaround is simple: David, June, Robert, Julia, Michelle, and Natalie Trone each gave Mayor Ashman $500. Four Trone family members each gave McNulty $500. The family collectively maxed out both candidates through a coordinated operation designed to concentrate influence within a system built to prevent exactly this kind of thing.
Question: Mayor Ashman, you accepted $3,000 from six members of the Trone family. You are running for County Council and asking CD-6 voters for their support. Will you tell those voters who you believe should represent them in Congress? If not, should the Trone family’s financial support be viewed as the reason for your silence? Mr. McNulty? Mr. Wu?
Lily Qi – The Exception That Proves the Rule
There’s a notable one crack in the money wagon: State Delegate Lily Qi of District 15 received $500 from Robert Trone on January 10, 2026.
But on February 25, Qi endorsed April McClain Delaney anyway. That makes the silence of Qi’s District 15 colleagues even louder. The reader should know that Lily Qi was once a big supporter of David Trone; she was all-in for Trone when he ran for the 6th District in 2018.
Qi’s district colleagues, Linda Foley ($4,000) and David Fraser-Hidalgo ($4,500), represent the same voters as she in District 15. One of the state delegates had the independence to make a choice, while the other two are sitting on their hands with Trone checks in their pockets.
Hey, we know; the money is difficult to turn down.
Beyond CD-6: The Trone Family Statewide Politician Purchase Operation
Great news for other politicians in Maryland! The Trone family is looking to fling out some cash to eager politicians – and it probably has a lot to do with the Trone family’s business interests.
In January 2026, Robert Trone wrote checks to state legislators all across Maryland, including Republicans, whom Trone, David, vows to defeat.
Robert Trone has donated to State Senator J.B. Jennings ($250) and State Senator Justin Ready ($250). Both Trump supporters. This is the same approach Total Wine has used (and will continue to use) in state legislatures across the country to secure favorable liquor laws. Trone & Company spread the money everywhere, across both parties, so nobody has an incentive to cross you.
(We have a house in Florida. Politicians in sunny Florida love the Trone family!)
The most striking recent Trone-family money this cycle: Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins of District 20
In January 2024, Wilkins led a public demand that Trone apologize to Angela Alsobrooks during the Senate primary.
On primary day in May 2024, CNN quoted Wilkins at a get-out-the-vote event in Silver Spring, saying, “I want a woman to speak for me. I want Angela Alsobrooks to speak for me.“
The day after Alsobrooks won her Democratic primary, crushing Trone, Wilkins unleashed a 12-post thread on X attacking David Trone, prompting Montgomery Perspective to ask how that message would play with the 200,000 Democrats who voted for him.
But on January 14, 2026, Robert Trone wrote Jheanelle Wilkins a $500 check.
Uh, oh.
Less than twenty months after Wilkins demanded David Trone apologize, stumped against him on the Senate campaign trail, basically called him a racist, and posted a victory-lap attack thread the night he lost, Mr. Trone’s brother, Robert, is funding Wilkins campaign.
What a guy. Really.
Funny how a $500 check can cure 20 months of righteous indignation.
Hey, Delegate Wilkins: Do you think you’ll return Robert Trone’s money? Has your position on David Trone changed now that his family is writing you checks?
Frederick County’s Data Center Connection
David Trone’s donations to Frederick politicians this cycle map directly onto the most consequential local issue facing 6th District voters: data center development.
On December 23, 2025, the Frederick County Council voted 5-2 to approve a 2,600-acre Critical Digital Infrastructure Overlay Zone north of Adamstown, more than 1,000 acres larger than the planning commission recommended. That vote opened Frederick County farmland to data center development over the fierce objections of residents who packed public hearings in “Save Our Rural Legacy” shirts.
- County Executive Jessica Fitzwater proposed the original data center map. She received $24,000 from the Trone family weeks before the council voted on her plan.
- Brad Young, Frederick’s Council President, supported the expanded zone. He endorsed Trone.
- Renee Knapp voted for the expanded zone. She endorsed Trone.
What about the Frederick County council members who voted against the expanded zone?
Mr. Donald and Mr. McKay stood with Frederick County citizens. Both men have endorsed McClain Delaney this cycle. Mr. Donald hasn’t received any Trone family money in this cycle, based on the available records I could search.
Today, hundreds of Frederick County residents are racing to collect 15,000 signatures by March 20 this year to force a public referendum on the data center zone. These residents are fighting against the decisions made by Frederick County elected officials who cashed David Trone’s big checks and endorsed his congressional bid.
The folks gathering those signatures deserve to know whose interests their elected leaders are serving.
Come on, Politicians: Let’s Answer Some Questions
A Miner Detail is requesting comment from every elected official named in this analysis. We probably won’t get it.
The questions are straightforward:
To the silent officials: Are you declining to endorse in the CD-6 Democratic primary because David Trone and his family gave you money? Or are you waiting to see how much more money the Trone family will give you before you decide?
To Delegate Wilkins: You publicly demanded that David Trone apologize to Angela Alsobrooks. Is he still a racist? You campaigned against him in 2024 – hard. You attacked him on social media the night he lost. Mr. Trone’s brother, Robert, gave you $500 in January 2026. Wilkins is also rumored to be eyeing a higher elected office in Maryland.
Delegate, are you planning to return Robert Trone’s money?
To Senator Karen Lewis Young: You endorsed April McClain Delaney for this seat in 2024. David Trone gave you $6,000 on January 13, 2026.
I think a lot of people are looking to you for moral clarity. Are you going to give it to them?
To Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and City Councilmember McNulty: Six Trone family members gave you $3,000. Four Trone family members gave Mr. McNulty $2,000. You are both running for Montgomery County Council and asking CD-6 voters to trust your judgment.
Why will you not tell those voters who should represent them in Congress?
To Renee Knapp: April McClain Delaney personally attended your re-election event on November 17, 2025, and called you “remarkable.” Robert J. Trone gave you $6,000 two weeks earlier. You endorsed Trone over the woman who showed up to support you.
Can you explain that?
What The Trone Money Means For Politicians Accepting It
None of this is illegal.
Maryland campaign finance law permits every dollar described in this analysis. David Trone has the right to give his money to any candidate he chooses, and his family members have the same right. Look, it’s David Trone’s money. It’s his family’s money. They can do whatever the hell they want with it. It’s their money.
But legality is not the question.
The question is what $74,000 in targeted contributions to 6th District officials has purchased in a congressional primary where the sitting incumbent is being challenged by one of the wealthiest men in Maryland politics, who just so happened to blow $62.9 million in his own money on a failed U.S. Senate campaign in 2024.
The answer, visible in the campaign finance records and the endorsement lists, is that it purchased a wall of silence from officials who would otherwise have every reason to back their sitting congresswoman during one of the most turbulent periods in American governance.
These elected officials endorsed Mr. Trone for a Maryland U.S. Senate seat in 2024 when he was the sitting congressman and their political patron.
David Trone lost that race and is no longer in Congress. He endorsed April McClain Delaney for his old seat; she won her seat, took office, and has spent her first year and two months in Congress protecting federal workers, fighting harder than anyone else we know against the Hagerstown ICE detention facility, and securing resources for Western Maryland flood victims.
She has the endorsement of Governor Moore, both Maryland U.S. Senators, the entire Maryland Democratic congressional delegation, and the legend herself, Nancy Pelosi.
And yet the state delegates who represent the voters of April McClain Delaney’s district in Annapolis will not say her name. The mayor of her district’s largest city will not say her name. The state senator who endorsed her for this exact seat 18 months ago will not say her name.
The Trone family checkbook did that. Voters in the 6th Congressional District should know it.
This article will reflect any responses A Miner Detail receives. For this analysis, AMD pulled the campaign finance data from the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System (MDCRIS) on March 15, 2026. Email me at Ryan@AMinerDetail.com.
