Leading Off:
● MD-08: Wealthy businessman David Trone only kicked off his bid for this safely blue Washington-area seat a few days ago, and his many primary rivals already have something to attack him with. While Trone is a prominent Democratic donor who even hosted President Obama at his home for a fundraiser, the Washington Post reports that since 2000, Trone has given a hefty $150,000 to Republicans.
Trone wasn't exactly apologetic about his decision to contribute to Republicans like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory when he was asked. While he said he disagrees with the GOP candidates he sent money to "on everything social and economic," "I sign my checks to buy access." That's nothing if not honest in a very Trump-like way. Former hotel executive and primary rival Kathleen Matthews has also earned some scorn for donating to GOP Sen. Roy Blunt for business reasons, though her $2,600 looks positively tiny compared to what Trone has shelled out.
Trone is also already airing his first TV ad. In his minute-long spot, Trone takes the viewer on a tour of the farm where he grew up, and describes how he learned about compassion and respect from it, before talking about providing opportunities for people. It's a bit weird that Trone's ad centers around a farm while he's campaigning for a very suburban seat, but we can't all be born in log cabins. The ad is part of Trone's opening $900,000 buy.