The two leading Democratic candidates who are running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) have pledged to continue to champion LGBTQ rights in the U.S. Senate.

Jared DeWese, a spokesperson for Congressman David Trone’s campaign, in a statement to the Washington Blade noted the Total Wine & More founder is a member of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law.

DeWese pointed out that Trone voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act and co-sponsored a U.S. House of Representatives resolution in support of transgender rights. DeWese also highlighted that Trone helped secure $530,000 in grants from the Department of Homeland Security to develop violence prevention programs for LGBTQ youth in Montgomery County.

Total Wine & More began to offer benefits to employees’ same-sex partners more than 20 years ago. (Maryland voters in 2012 approved the state’s same-sex marriage law.)

“David Trone is the most outspoken and long-standing supporter of the LGBTQ+ community in this race,” said DeWese. “Before marriage equality was a reality in Maryland and across the country, David extended partner benefits to all employees at the company he founded, Total Wine & More, because he believes that equal rights are the bedrock of American democracy and must be extended to everyone.” 

DeWese further described Trone as a “consistent ally” in Congress.

“Congressman Trone’s record aligns with his personal values and those of the voters of Maryland, and they can expect that from him in the Senate,” said DeWese.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in a statement to the Blade noted she supported Maryland’s marriage equality law in 2012 and “will continue to stand up for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, including the right to marry, grow their families, and live free from discrimination, in the Senate.”

Alsobrooks is among those who attended a pro-marriage equality fundraiser at state Del. Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County)’s home in October 2012. 

The Montgomery County Democrat last week told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview that her now wife worked with Alsobrooks when she was Prince George’s County state’s attorney. Kaiser said Alsobrooks encouraged her wife to propose to her, and toasted them at their wedding in 2013.   

“A lot of people were good personally, but not so much publicly,” said Kaiser, referring to Alsobrooks’s support for marriage equality before the 2012 referendum. “She was for marriage equality before it was cool to be for marriage equality.”

Alsobrooks in her statement to the Blade said she will “strongly oppose Republican efforts to undermine equality and promote discrimination including the recent wave of anti-trans legislation in some Republican-led legislatures.”

Trone, company made donations to anti-LGBTQ Republicans

Cardin earlier this year announced he will retire from the Senate after three terms.

Gov. Wes Moore; Lieutenant Gov. Aruna Miller; Comptroller Brooke Lierman; U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); Maryland Congressmen Glenn Ivey, Steny Hoyer and Kweisi Mfume, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones, state Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City), Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin and Howard County Registrar of Wills Byron Macfarlane are among the officials who have endorsed Alsobrooks. Emily’s List and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC are two of the organizations that have also backed her campaign.

Maryland Congressman C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger and state Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) are two of the dozens of current and former elected officials in the state and across the country who have endorsed Trone. 

IBEW Locals 24, 26 and 307 and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers have also backed his campaign. 

Campaign finance records indicate Trone and/or his wife have previously supported anti-LGBTQ Republicans. These include a $38,000 donation to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s election campaign in 2014, two $4,000 contributions to former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory in 2008 and 2012 and $2,500 to U.S. Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.).

Total Wine & More between 2007-2022 contributed $272,971 to Republican officials, candidates and state parties. 

Trone in 2015 stepped down as the company’s CEO. His campaign on Tuesday noted to the Blade that he “has had no involvement in the company’s contributions since becoming a member of Congress.” 

“Prior to stepping down from Total Wine & More, David made contributions to support his company’s efforts to protect tens of thousands of jobs across the nation,” it said.

“While our opponents may attempt to distract from David’s proven track record as an ally and advocate for LGBTQIA+ Americans, the facts are clear: David Trone is the only candidate for United States Senate in Maryland who has taken bold action to support the LGBTQIA+ community,” added the campaign. “That’s why the Human Rights Campaign has given David a 100 percent rating and was honored to endorse him in 2022.” 

His campaign further noted Trone “has supported causes to strengthen and expand mental health access for the  LGBTQIA+ community across the country.” They include $8.5 million in donations to the Democratic Party and pro-LGBTQ candidates. Trone, according to his campaign, has “also been a decades-long supporter of the ACLU, one of the first organizations to fight for marriage equality and equal rights in the nation.”

Alsobrooks disavows anti-gay comments made at her church

Prince George’s County Councilwoman Krystal Oriadha, who is bisexual, in June criticized the decision not to hold a ceremony for the raising of the Pride flag over the county administrative building in Upper Marlboro.

Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr., of First Baptist Church of Glenarden, the Upper Marlboro church that Alsobrooks attends, in 2012 urged his congregants to vote against Maryland’s marriage equality law. Shirley Caesar, a well-known gospel singer, during a 2017 appearance at the church defended Kim Burrell, another gospel singer who referred to the “perverted homosexual lifestyle” in an online sermon that has been removed from YouTube and social media.

“You (Burrell) should’ve said something four years ago when our president made that stuff alright,” said Caesar.

Alsobrooks’s campaign told the Blade she “does not agree with those sentiments.”