David Trone

David Trone
Born	David John Trone 21 9, 1955
Birthplace	Cheverly, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, businessman
Known for	Co-founder of Total Wine & More; U.S. Representative for Maryland's 6th congressional district (2019–2025)
Education	Furman University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MBA)
Children	4
Awards	Jewish Community Relations Council Honor (2025)

David John Trone (born September 21, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 6th congressional district from January 2019 to January 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Trone represented a district encompassing most of the western third of Maryland, with its population center in the outer northern suburbs of Washington, D.C. Before entering politics, Trone co-founded Total Wine & More, one of the largest independent retailers of wine, spirits, and beer in the United States, alongside his brother Robert L. Trone. His path from a farming family in rural Maryland to a billionaire retail magnate and three-term congressman shaped a political career defined by substantial self-funding and a legislative focus on mental health and addiction policy. In 2024, Trone mounted a bid for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Ben Cardin, spending over $60 million of his personal fortune before losing the Democratic primary to Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks. In December 2025, Trone announced he would seek to reclaim his former House seat in the 2026 election cycle.

Early Life

David John Trone was born on September 21, 1955, in Cheverly, Maryland. He grew up on a farm, an upbringing that he has cited as formative in shaping his work ethic and values. His family's modest agricultural background stood in contrast to the business empire he would later build in the retail alcohol industry.

Trone's early years were spent in the rural communities of Maryland. The experience of growing up in a working-class farming family provided him with an understanding of small-town economic challenges—themes that would later inform both his business strategies for reaching underserved retail markets and his political messaging when campaigning in the largely rural western Maryland district he would eventually represent in Congress.

Details of Trone's childhood and adolescence beyond his farm upbringing remain limited in the public record. What is documented is that he pursued higher education with ambition, eventually leaving rural Maryland for Furman University in South Carolina and later the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a trajectory that took him far from the farming life of his youth.

Education

Trone attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he studied business and accounting, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He maintained a long-standing relationship with his alma mater; in 2013, Furman dedicated the Trone Student Center in his honor, reflecting his philanthropic contributions to the university.

After Furman, Trone pursued graduate studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master of Business Administration degree. The business education he received at Wharton provided the foundation for his later career as a retail entrepreneur. Trone and his wife, June Malament Trone, later gave back to Wharton with a $5 million gift to the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative, which supported research at the intersection of business and public policy.

Career

Total Wine & More

Trone co-founded Total Wine & More with his brother, Robert L. Trone. The company grew from a single store into one of the largest independent retailers of wine, beer, and spirits in the United States. As of its expansion period in the 2010s, Total Wine offered an inventory of approximately 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits, and 3,000 beers at its locations. Trone served as the company's president until December 2016, when he stepped aside from daily operations to pursue his political ambitions.

The growth of Total Wine was not without controversy. The company's business model, which emphasized large-format retail stores offering a vast selection at competitive prices, frequently brought it into conflict with state and local alcohol regulators, as well as smaller independent liquor store owners who viewed the chain as a disruptive force. The Boston Globe reported in 2017 that Total Wine had engaged in prolonged battles with alcohol regulators in multiple states over pricing practices and retail licensing, with the company pushing aggressively to expand into new markets against entrenched regulatory frameworks.

Trone's path in the alcohol retail business also included personal legal entanglements with state authorities. Bethesda Magazine reported that Trone's record included three arrests involving disputes with state authorities related to his business activities, incidents that later surfaced during his political campaigns.

Total Wine expanded across the country through the 2000s and 2010s, entering major metropolitan markets including Dallas, Long Beach, and others. The Washington Post profiled the company's business model and growth, describing the enterprise that Trone and his brother built from a Potomac, Maryland, base into a national chain. Trone continued to co-own the company with his brother even after leaving his presidential role and entering Congress.

2016 Congressional Campaign

In January 2016, Trone announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 8th congressional district, seeking to succeed Chris Van Hollen, who was running for the U.S. Senate. The race drew national attention primarily because of Trone's extraordinary personal spending. He invested more than $13 million of his own money into the primary campaign, setting a record at the time for the most expensive self-funded House campaign in American history.

Despite the massive financial investment, Trone was unsuccessful in the crowded Democratic primary. The 2016 race served as an expensive introduction to electoral politics for the first-time candidate, who had no prior experience in government or political campaigns. The loss, however, did not deter Trone from pursuing a political career; he quickly pivoted to a different congressional district for the next election cycle.

U.S. House of Representatives (2019–2025)

In 2018, Trone ran for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 6th congressional district, seeking to succeed John Delaney, who was leaving the seat to pursue a presidential campaign. Trone won the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election, beginning his tenure in the 116th United States Congress on January 3, 2019.

Trone served three terms in the House, representing the 6th district from January 2019 to January 2025. The district encompassed most of the western third of Maryland, including Frederick, Hagerstown, and Cumberland, though the bulk of its population resided in the outer northern suburbs of Washington, D.C.

During his time in Congress, Trone made mental health and addiction policy a central focus of his legislative work. He co-chaired the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, a caucus that sought to address the opioid crisis and broader substance abuse challenges through bipartisan legislative action. The issue had personal resonance for Trone, who spoke publicly about his family's experience with addiction.

Trone was also engaged with law enforcement and public safety issues during his tenure. He supported the Public Safety Officer Support Act, which addressed mental health resources for first responders and public safety officers.

2024 U.S. Senate Campaign

Trone announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2024 election, seeking the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Ben Cardin. The campaign was notable for its scale of self-funding; Trone spent over $60 million of his personal fortune on the race, far exceeding his already-record-setting spending in 2016.

On May 14, 2024, Trone was defeated in the Democratic primary by Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George's County executive. The loss marked the second time Trone had spent tens of millions of dollars on a Democratic primary only to fall short. The Washington Post later reported the total spending at approximately $62 million, making it one of the most expensive self-funded congressional primary campaigns in American history.

In order to run for the Senate, Trone had given up his House seat, which was subsequently won by April McClain Delaney in the 2024 election.

2026 Congressional Campaign

On December 11, 2025, Trone announced that he would seek to reclaim his former seat in Maryland's 6th congressional district, challenging his successor, April McClain Delaney, in the Democratic primary. The announcement drew attention both for its unusual nature—a former congressman challenging his own chosen successor—and for Trone's stated rationale. The Washington Post reported that Trone said the election of Donald Trump changed his calculus about retiring from politics.

Politico noted that the primary bid was complicated by the fact that Trone had publicly promoted McClain Delaney's candidacy when she ran to succeed him in 2024. Roll Call described the effort as a "comeback" bid by the former three-term congressman.

In early 2026, Trone drew attention for his criticism of a new ICE detention facility in Hagerstown, located within his former congressional district. Fox News reported that the Department of Homeland Security issued a sharp response after Trone alleged that ICE was "executing people" at the facility, with DHS officials defending the new detention center's operations.

Personal Life

Trone is married to June Malament Trone. The couple has four children. The family has been active in philanthropy, with significant donations to educational institutions and public policy organizations. Their $5 million gift to the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania supported research on evidence-based policymaking. Their contributions to Furman University resulted in the naming of the Trone Student Center on the Greenville campus.

Trone has spoken publicly about the impact of addiction on his family, which informed his legislative focus on mental health and substance abuse policy during his time in Congress. His advocacy on these issues was a consistent thread throughout his three terms in the House.

The Trone family resides in the Potomac, Maryland area, within the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan region.

Recognition

In October 2025, David and June Trone were honored by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), as reported by Furman University. The recognition acknowledged their contributions to community and civic engagement.

Trone's philanthropic work has been recognized by multiple educational institutions. Furman University honored him with the dedication of the Trone Student Center in 2013, reflecting his significant financial contributions to the university where he earned his undergraduate degree. His gift to the Wharton School similarly established his presence as a donor in higher education circles concerned with public policy research.

During his congressional tenure, Trone received attention in national media for his role as co-chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force, which positioned him as a leading voice in the House on substance abuse and mental health policy issues.

Legacy

David Trone's career in both business and politics has been defined by a willingness to invest substantial personal resources toward his objectives. In the business arena, Total Wine & More grew under his leadership from a regional operation into a national retail chain, fundamentally altering the competitive landscape of alcohol retailing in the United States. The company's expansion model—featuring large-format stores with expansive selections and competitive pricing—challenged existing regulatory frameworks and independent retailers in markets across the country.

In the political sphere, Trone's campaigns became notable for their extraordinary levels of self-funding. His combined personal spending across his 2016, 2018, and 2024 campaigns totaled well over $75 million, placing him among the highest self-funding candidates in the history of American congressional elections. The 2024 Senate primary, in which he spent approximately $62 million only to lose to Angela Alsobrooks, prompted renewed debate about the effectiveness and limits of personal wealth in Democratic primary contests.

Trone's legislative contributions during his three terms in the House centered on mental health and addiction policy, an area where he built bipartisan coalitions and brought personal experience to bear on federal policymaking. His co-chairmanship of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force represented one of the more sustained congressional efforts to address substance abuse as a public health issue during the period of the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States.

His December 2025 announcement of a campaign to reclaim his former House seat indicated that Trone's political career remained an ongoing enterprise, with his future role in Maryland and national politics yet to be determined.