Holy shit, he went and did it. Well, the time for theories is over. The hammer has fallen, and David Trone is running for Congress. And he’s self-funding.
Saying that he had been thinking about running for Congress since he was in his 20s, David Trone, the 60-year old co-owner of Bethesda-based Total Wine & More, is jumping into the race for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Congressional District—and is planning to use his considerable wealth to self-fund his campaign.
“There is no question that I am the underdog, certainly a big underdog,” Trone said in an interview Wednesday afternoon, adding, “Typically, people like to stay with what they already know. Often, people don’t like change. As a businessperson, I love change.”
However, Trone will enter the contest—in which seven other Democrats have been running, some for almost a year—with a big advantage: the ability to dig into his own pocket to finance his campaign in a race in which many insiders say it could cost upwards of $3 million to win the nomination.
“Having seen the terrible problem of lobbyists, corporations and donors blocking change that is good for Americans, I have decided I am not going to take any money from corporations, lobbyists and [political action committees],” said Trone, adding he would accept individual donations of no more than $10 per person.
“I won’t be anyone’s representative but theirs,” he said, alluding to rank-and-file voters.
A fascinating story line in this race just got even more intriguing. Game on. There is assuredly more to come in the days ahead.