EXCLUSIVE — The CEO of Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) Total Wine & More family business sent an email Monday to the company’s employees encouraging them to vote in the Tuesday Maryland primary, noting the lawmaker informed staff members it’s “important that you put democracy in action and vote for your candidate!”
Trone, co-owner of the $2.4 billion liquor retail chain Total Wine & More, poured a staggering $61.8 million of his fortune into his Senate primary bid against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is endorsed by top congressional Democrats. In an email to hundreds of Total Wine & More employees Monday afternoon, CEO Troy Rice reminded staff members of the race and sent resources along for them to vote.
“Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 14 is Primary Election Day in the State of Maryland, a day when voters exercise one of their most important rights, to vote for whom will serve them in local, state and federal government office,” Rice wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“Voters in Maryland will decide the Democratic and Republican party candidates for local offices as well as U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and President of the United States,” Rice continued in the email. “As you are probably aware, our co-owner U.S. Representative David Trone, is seeking the Democratic nomination to be Maryland’s next United States Senator. As David stated at the Annual meeting, it is important that you put democracy in action and vote for your candidate!”
The email to staff members at Total Wine & More comes as Trone faces scrutiny from legal experts over his personal finances in connection to the company before the primary. Trone has said he “relinquished all operational responsibility” from Total Wine & More, but he has maintained top leadership roles with the company and appears to have failed to disclose his stake in Total Wine offshoots, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“Total Wine & More encourages each of its Total Wine & More team members to fulfill their civic duty by voting in tomorrow’s election,” Rice emailed employees, along with a link for them to find their polling places. “Here’s what you need to know to cast your vote: Election Day polling places will be open from 7 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. You must vote at your assigned polling place.”
Trone has led Alsobrooks, a black woman, for months by a sizable lead — though a poll released Thursday found him trailing her by 1 percentage point. In March, Trone notably came under fire for using the term “jigaboo,” a racial slur against black people, during a hearing. He then issued an apology and claimed he intended to use the word “bugaboo,” but members of the Congressional Black Caucus had already moved to endorse Alsobrooks.
The winner of the primary will face off against Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor and presumptive Republican nominee for Senate.
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Trone’s campaign did not return a request for comment.
Asked by the Washington Examiner if Total Wine & More has asked staff members to vote for Trone, the company’s vice president of public affairs, Edward Cooper, said the email “was sent to remind our employees that Tuesday is primary Election Day in Maryland and encourage them to fulfill their civic duty and exercise their right to vote for the candidates of their choice.”