Embattled Dem Senate Candidate Says He Suddenly Fell Ill, Backs Out Of Another Debate

 Rep. David Trone (D-MD), who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland and is facing fallout after uttering a racial slur, canceled events after his doctor referred him to the hospital due to illness, his campaign said on Sunday.

“Last night following an event, David felt dehydrated and began to register a fever. Out of an abundance of caution David’s doctor encouraged him to seek further testing at a local hospital,” Team Trone said in a statement.

“David is feeling well and expecting to return home this afternoon,” it added. “We apologize for the late cancellation of events David was expected to participate in today, and look forward to being back on the trail soon.”

Trone had been scheduled to participate in a debate against a rival Democrat, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, on Sunday. The event will go forward without him and focus on the recent Key Bridge collapse, said a local official, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Trone and Alsobrooks are running for the seat held by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) in the primary scheduled for next month. They face a Republican challenger in former Maryland GOP Governor Larry Hogan, who has performed well in polling since entering the contest. Both Alsobrooks and Hogan wished Trone well on Sunday.

“Sending our best wishes to Congressman Trone and hope he gets better soon. Looking forward to seeing him back on the trail,” said a post to X from Alsobrooks.

“Sending our best wishes to Congressman Trone. Hope he feels better and can get back out on the campaign trail soon,” said one from Hogan’s account.

 

Trone, who has spent more than $20 million on the race, faced blowback after saying a racial slur — “jigaboo” —  while talking about tax rates during a congressional hearing a couple weeks ago. Since that time, Axios reported several black Democrats have since endorsed Alsobrooks, who is black. And Trone backed out of another debate with her.

In an apology, Trone said he meant to say “bugaboo” and instead used an “offensive” phrase, per the Associated Press. “That word has a long dark terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation. I recognize that as a white man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use — especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.”