A slew of Maryland officials plan to go on the offensive against Rep. David Trone, a contender for the state’s open Senate seat, after he referred to supporters of his Democratic primary opponent as “low-level.”
Trone made the comments during an NBC segment on Wednesday comparing Trone and his chief rival, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
“The people that know [Prince George’s County] the best, ironically, all came to us,” Trone told an NBC reporter of his primary endorsers.
“But not a majority,” the reporter countered.
“The people in Prince George’s County who stuck with her are the low-level folks,” Trone said. “The top-level folks — that’s called the attorney general, I think. I think that’s called the state’s attorney — I think. I think that’s called the senior [state] senator — I think. I think they’re the top-level folks.”
The tit-for-tat over endorsements comes after former Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski this week endorsed Alsobrooks, adding to her roster of top Democratic backers that also includes Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
Trone’s campaign in a statement reiterated his support among some Prince George’s County officials, and noted: “While David has focused on the ways that Washington is broken and proposed bold ideas that can fix Washington, our opponents and their supporters have fixated on which politicians have what status.”
Nearly two dozen local elected leaders plan to release statements Saturday calling out Trone for the “low-level” remark, including county council members, Maryland delegates and state senators from Alsobrooks’ home county and surrounding areas, HuffPost has learned.
“By calling a majority of the county council, seven of our eight state senators, our state treasurer and a sitting member of the U.S. Congress ‘low-level people,’ David Trone has insulted every man, woman and child that calls Prince George’s County home,” reads the text that a number of Prince George’s officials plan to blast out in press releases and social media posts.
“David Trone, we aren’t a low-level county. … We may not be a billionaire liquor store owner like you, but you’re going to find out the nearly one million residents that call Prince George’s County home will play a decisive role in electing our next U.S. senator. Her name will be Angela Alsobrooks.”
Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a Maryland state delegate backing Trone — whom the campaign suggested HuffPost reach out to — said she doesn’t believe that Trone meant anything by the “low-level” remark.
“We’re at a point in this race where tempers are running high … people are tired,” Peña-Melnyk said, suggesting Alsobrooks is the more “divisive” candidate in the primary.
But it’s the latest example of Trone’s words getting him in trouble. Last month, Trone apologized for accidentally using a racial slur in a congressional hearing. He also referred to several Black House colleagues as “great diversity candidates” during a debate.
Maryland’s Senate race is on track to become one of the most expensive races in Senate history, with Trone — the wealthy founder of liquor store chain Total Wine & More — spending $57 million in the primary alone. He’s used some of that money to launch an attack ad against Alsobrooks, featuring Black officials from Prince George’s questioning her qualifications for Senate.
Alsobrooks would, if victorious, become the first Black woman elected to the Senate from Maryland.
The Democratic nominee will likely go on to face GOP primary frontrunner and former Gov. Larry Hogan in November, in a must-win race for Democrats if they want to keep control of the Senate.