A Personal Clash, A Historic Opening Set The Stage For Potentially Costly Congressional Races

By Joe Wicke, Maryland Matters

February 16, 2026

Maryland’s congressional elections are not often high-profile affairs, but Maryland’s election years are not often like 2026, when a popular 20-term incumbent decided to bow out and a deep-pocketed former House member decided he wanted to get back in.

Those are just two of the factors driving what analysts say could make for some very expensive and high-profile House races this year.

It started when former 6th District Rep. David Trone, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2024, announced plans to challenge Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) who succeeded Trone in the Western Maryland district.

It kicked into high gear when Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) said he would not seek reelection to the seat he has held since 1981. That kicked off a scramble for the once-unassailable seat, with more than 20 candidates lined up already for the primary and more coming all the time. Most of the hopefuls are Democrats, for the seat in the safely Democratic Southern Maryland district.

Trone had raised a total of $6 million for his campaign, according to his end-of-year campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission. Of that amount, $5 million was a loan to himself. It’s more than quadruple the amount McClain Delaney has raised at $1.3 million.

But Trone, the founder of Total Wine and More, is no stranger to heavily self-financed campaigns. In his 2024 Senate race against Angela Alsobrooks, Trone spent more than $61 million of his own money on his campaign, a record in the state. He also self-financed previous House campaigns for tens of millions of dollars, the most expensive exceeding $18 million in 2018.

“I don’t think [Trone] got into this lightly,” Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said. “I think he really wants that seat back, and I think he’s probably going to be willing to spend whatever is necessary to do that.”

Hoyer's departure opens a scramble for his seat among Democrats long waiting in the wings.

Eberly said he predicts that Trone’s face will be a mainstay in Western Maryland homes in the coming months. FEC reports indicate that Trone spent over $1.6 million on advertising placement and production, over two-thirds of his $2.4 million in campaign spending so far.

McClain Delaney has countered with endorsements from virtually every Democratic officeholder in the state, and strong fundraising of her own. But to match Trone’s encroaching personal brand and deep pockets, Eberly said, McClain Delaney must fight back with dollars. She reported raising $1.3 million last year, in her latest FEC filing, and having more than $823,000 in cash on hand. But she has also loaned $700,000 of her own money to her campaign.

Some political insiders have characterized this race as, above all else, a “personal clash” between the two candidates, according to Politico. Whatever the case, analysts say that both candidates’ finances will only increase come the primaries in June.

“With Trone’s deep pockets and McClain Delaney being an incumbent, the 6th District could end up being one of the most expensive House primaries in the country,” said Nathan Gonzales, a political analyst for Inside Elections, in a statement to Maryland Matters.

5th District

Hoyer’s decision not to seek reelection after this term has led to a stampede of Democratic hopefuls, along with a handful of Republicans and independents.

“When incumbents choose to stay in office for 40 years, open seats are a hot commodity and attract tons of candidates and money to the primaries,” Gonzales wrote.

Inside Elections’ Jacob Rubashkin said that Hoyer’s departure in January was a “total reset” for the primaries, as it would have been all but a foregone conclusion had he stayed. Because of this, much of this primary’s finances are indeterminate.

“This is a race now, in a way that it absolutely was not a race prior to Hoyer’s decision to retire,” Rubashkin said. “It’s shaping up to be a pretty competitive and crowded, open primary, and in races like that, fundraising matters significantly.”

Currently, Quincy Bareebe (D) sits with the most reported fundraising of any candidate in the district, according to the FEC, with $1.2 million, mostly self-funded. Since the start of 2025, Bareebe has spent $506,065.

But Rubashkin said that he expects to see financial contenders. Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s), whom Hoyer endorsed in late January, is projected to be an early frontrunner and should see a sizable amount of money come June.

Harry Dunn, the former U.S. Capitol Police officer who ran unsuccessfully in the 3rd District in 2024, joined the 5th District race this month. He will not have to file with the FEC until summer, but he claimed to have raised more than $550,000 in his first 24 hours, and more than $2 million in the first few days.

8th District

The biggest fundraiser of them all is Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th). Even though he faces few challenges in a non-competitive district, Raskin has already amassed a king’s ransom in campaign funding.

For all of 2025, Raskin raised nearly $4.4 million, the second-highest out of any Maryland candidate in any district primary, according to his year-end FEC filings. That’s made up largely of donations from individuals, who contributed $3.7 million.

The next highest-funded candidate in the 8th District was Republican Cheryl Riley, who reported raising just under $11,000 last year.

Rather than indicating that he faces an intense race, the high funding reinforces the fact that Raskin is an insurmountable incumbent, Eberly said.

A vocal critic of the Trump administration, Raskin repeatedly voiced disdain over the deployment and funding of ICE, and pushed for the full release of the Epstein files by the Justice Department, calling the department’s handling of the files a “full-blown cover-up.” Raskin’s high amount of donations is symbolic of his growing national influence.

“Having a war chest like his [Raskin’s] is part of showing that it isn’t even really worth your time to try to take him on,” Eberly said.

1st District

A clear frontrunner in a historically red district, incumbent Rep. Andy Harris (R- 1st) deployed a strategy similar to Raskin’s, according to Eberly, using his high profile and influence to raise $1.2 million.

As it stands, the state’s proposed redistricting bills may be the only hindrance to Harris. If passed, the redrawn districts would diminish Republican power in the 1st District. Given the reluctance from Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) to pass the bill, however, this likely will not affect the primary’s results, Eberly said.

“It really scrambles things if that [redistricting] map goes forward,” Eberly said, “but I think most people in Maryland are taking Ferguson quite seriously when he says that map is dead.”