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| Elections in Maryland |
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The 2006 United States Senate election in Maryland was held Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Paul Sarbanes, Maryland's longest-serving United States senator, decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. Democratic nominee Ben Cardin, a U.S. representative, won the open seat, defeating Republican lieutenant governor Michael Steele.
Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and NAACP President, was the first to announce for the position, in March 2005. Ben Cardin, then a congressman since 1987, was the only other major candidate until September 2005, when former Baltimore County Executive Dennis F. Rasmussen, American University professor Allan Lichtman, and wealthy Potomac businessman Josh Rales entered the contest. Thirteen other candidates subsequently also entered the primary. As of August 2006, Cardin had raised more than $4.8 million and collected endorsements from a number of Democratic politicians, the AFL–CIO, and The Washington Post ; Mfume had raised over $1.2 million and collected endorsements from the Maryland State Teachers Association, Progressive Maryland, former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, the National Organization for Women, and Maryland Congressmen Elijah Cummings and Al Wynn.
On August 31, 2006, Maryland Public Television (MPT) and the League of Women Voters (LWV) sponsored a debate between the two leading Democratic Primary Candidates. [4] [5] The LWV of Maryland and MPT arbitrarily excluded most of the FEC qualified candidates from the only televised debates in the primary election. There were 18 candidates in this race, only 2, Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume, were allowed to debate, despite the strenuous protests of the excluded candidates. Lichtman, Rales, and Rasmussen petitioned MPT and LWV for inclusion in the debate but received no response. On the day of the debate, Lichtman, his wife, and a campaign aide were arrested for trespassing while protesting during the taping of the debate. [6] They were found not guilty on all charges. The judge in the case said it should never have been brought to court and was a gross violation of the parties' constitutional rights. [7]
| Source | Date | Ben Cardin | A. Robert Kaufman | Allan Lichtman | Kweisi Mfume | Josh Rales | Dennis F. Rasmussen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Post [8] | June 25, 2006 | 26% | 2% | 4% | 33% | 0% | 4% |
| Baltimore Sun [9] | July 17, 2006 | 32% | 1% | 1% | 28% | 1% | 1% |
| Public Opinion Strategies [10] | August 1–2, 2006 | 31% | — | — | 25% | 4% | 6% |
| Gonzales Research [11] | August 30, 2006 | 43% | — | — | 30% | 6% | — |
| SurveyUSA [12] | August 31, 2006 | 38% | — | — | 42% | 7% | — |
| SurveyUSA [13] | September 11, 2006 | 47% | — | — | 38% | 7% | — |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Benjamin L. Cardin | 257,545 | 43.67 | |
| Democratic | Kweisi Mfume | 238,957 | 40.52 | |
| Democratic | Josh Rales | 30,737 | 5.21 | |
| Democratic | Dennis F. Rasmussen | 10,997 | 1.86 | |
| Democratic | Mike Schaefer | 7,773 | 1.32 | |
| Democratic | Allan Lichtman | 6,919 | 1.17 | |
| Democratic | Theresa C. Scaldaferri | 5,081 | 0.86 | |
| Democratic | James H. Hutchinson | 4,949 | 0.84 | |
| Democratic | David Dickerson | 3,950 | 0.67 | |
| Democratic | A. Robert Kaufman | 3,908 | 0.66 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Jaworski | 3,486 | 0.59 | |
| Democratic | Thomas McCaskill | 3,459 | 0.59 | |
| Democratic | George T. English | 2,305 | 0.39 | |
| Democratic | Bob Robinson | 2,208 | 0.37 | |
| Democratic | Lih Young | 2,039 | 0.35 | |
| Democratic | Blaine Taylor | 1,848 | 0.31 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Werner | 1,832 | 0.31 | |
| Democratic | Charles Ulysses Smith | 1,702 | 0.29 | |
| Total votes | 589,695 | 100 | ||
Michael S. Steele was expected to win the Republican primary, and the Baltimore Sun wrote the month before that he faced "only nominal opposition". [15] Among a field of nine other candidates, the only Republican receiving sufficient media coverage was Daniel Vovak.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael S. Steele | 190,790 | 86.96 | |
| Republican | John Kimble | 6,280 | 2.86 | |
| Republican | Earl S. Gordon | 4,110 | 1.87 | |
| Republican | Daniel "Wig Man" Vovak | 4,063 | 1.85 | |
| Republican | Thomas J. Hampton | 3,946 | 1.80 | |
| Republican | Corrogan R. Vaughn | 2,565 | 1.17 | |
| Republican | Daniel Muffoletto | 2,335 | 1.06 | |
| Republican | Richard Shawver | 2,298 | 1.05 | |
| Republican | Ray Bly | 2,114 | 0.96 | |
| Republican | Edward Raymond Madej | 902 | 0.41 | |
| Total votes | 219,403 | 100 | ||
This was Maryland's first open Senate seat since 1986, when junior Senator Barbara Mikulski was first elected.
Michael Steele won the Republican nomination after facing little competition in the contest for the Republican ticket. With mostly unknown secondary candidates, Steele received 87% of the Republican Primary vote.
Third District Congressional Representative Ben Cardin won the Democratic Party nomination after facing tough competition in the contest for the Democratic ticket from former congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, businessman Josh Rales, former Baltimore County Executive Dennis F. Rasmussen, and several lesser-known candidates. Cardin received 44% of the Democratic Primary vote to 40% for Mfume, his next closest competitor. All other candidates received percentages only in the single digits.
Kevin Zeese, the nominee for the Green, Populist and Libertarian Parties, was also on the ballot.
Though Steele lost the general election by 10% of the vote, a much wider margin than predicted, his was and remains the best showing for a Republican in a Senate race in Maryland since Charles Mathias, Jr. was re-elected in 1980 with 66.17% of the vote.
Both Steele and Cardin made controversial statements and advertising throughout the campaign.
The first debate of the race was held Tuesday, October 3, 2006. All three candidates were present and participated. The evening was hosted by the Baltimore Urban League and moderated by Charles Robinson from Maryland Public Television and Doni Glover from BMORENEWS. [18]
The first televised debate of the campaign was broadcast on News Channel 8 on the program "News Talk". All three candidates participated in the debate, and were moderated by Bruce DePuyt, the host of the program. There was no audience. This debate was widely reported because of the constant bickering between the three candidates, who often interrupted and talked over one another. [19]
Another debate took place between Steele and Cardin on Sunday, October 29, 2006, as a part of the Meet The Press Senatorial debate series. Moderated by Tim Russert, the debate focused primarily on the Iraq War and stem-cell research, amongst other issues. [20]
The three candidates all participated in the final debate of the campaign on Friday, November 3, 2006. The event was sponsored by the Collective Banking Group and held at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. [21]
Cardin primarily attacked Steele over his close relations with President Bush, including pictures of Bush and Steele in Cardin's TV ads. [22] Steele focused on low taxes, less government spending, free markets and national security. [23]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report [24] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball [25] | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report [26] | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics [27] | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Source | Date | Ben Cardin (D) | Michael Steele (R) | Kevin Zeese (G) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Sun [28] | April 2005 | 41% | 37% | |
| Baltimore Sun [29] | October 25, 2005 | 47% | 38% | |
| Potomac Survey Research [30] | November 1, 2005 | 41% | 32% | |
| Rasmussen [31] | November 21, 2005 | 49% | 41% | |
| Rasmussen [32] | January 13, 2006 | 40% | 45% | |
| Zogby [33] | January 20, 2006 | 49% | 43% | |
| Rasmussen [34] | February 22, 2006 | 49% | 35% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [35] | March 31, 2006 | 49% | 39% | |
| Gonzales Research [36] | April 18, 2006 | 49% | 35% | |
| Rasmussen [37] | April 25, 2006 | 45% | 35% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [38] | June 21, 2006 | 51% | 40% | |
| Washington Post [39] | June 25, 2006 | 49% | 39% | |
| Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. [40] | July 6–10, 2006 | 47% | 36% | |
| Rasmussen [41] | July 17, 2006 | 47% | 41% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [42] | July 24, 2006 | 50% | 42% | |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R) [43] | August 1–2, 2006 | 43% | 35% | |
| Rasmussen [44] | August 18, 2006 | 47% | 42% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [45] | August 28, 2006 | 50% | 41% | |
| Gonzales Research [46] | August 30, 2006 | 44% | 39% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [47] | September 10, 2006 | 49% | 40% | |
| Rasmussen [48] | September 19, 2006 | 50% | 43% | |
| SurveyUSA [49] | September 20, 2006 | 47% | 48% | 4% |
| Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. [50] | September 25, 2006 | 51% | 40% | |
| VC Research (R) [51] | September 27–28, 2006 | 44% | 39% | |
| Zogby/Wall Street Journal [52] | September 28, 2006 | 52% | 39% | |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC [53] | October 2, 2006 | 47% | 41% | 1% |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R) [54] | October 2–4, 2006 | 47% | 43% | |
| Reuters/Zogby [55] | October 5, 2006 | 45% | 37% | |
| USA Today/Gallup [56] | October 6, 2006 | 54% | 39% | |
| Rasmussen [57] | October 16, 2006 | 53% | 44% | |
| SurveyUSA [58] | October 18, 2006 | 46% | 46% | 3% |
| VC Research (R) [59] | October 22–23, 2006 | 41% | 39% | |
| Garin Hart Yang (D) [60] | October 23–24, 2006 | 52% | 40% | |
| Rasmussen [61] | October 26, 2006 | 49% | 42% | |
| Washington Post [62] | October 29, 2006 | 54% | 43% | 1% |
| Reuters/Zogby [63] | November 2, 2006 | 49% | 44% | |
| Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. [64] | November 2, 2006 | 49% | 43% | 2% |
| SurveyUSA [65] | November 3, 2006 | 47% | 47% | |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC [66] | November 5, 2006 | 47% | 44% | 1% |
| SurveyUSA [67] | November 6, 2006 | 49% | 46% | 3% |
Despite polls days before the election showing the race at a 3% margin, Cardin won by just over 10% with a 178,295-vote margin, although as of 2024 [update] , this is the closest a Republican has come to winning a U.S. Senate election in Maryland since Charles Mathias was reelected in 1980. On the same day, incumbent Republican governor Bob Ehrlich lost reelection to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ben Cardin | 965,477 | 54.21 | −9.0 | |
| Republican | Michael Steele | 787,182 | 44.19 | +7.5 | |
| Green | Kevin Zeese | 27,564 | 1.55 | n/a | |
| Write-in | 916 | 0.05 | 0 | ||
| Majority | 178,295 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 1,781,139 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
| County | Ben Cardin Democratic | Michael Steele Republican | Kevin Zeese Green | Write-Ins Independent | Margin | Total Votes Cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Allegany | 8396 | 38.87% | 12892 | 59.69% | 309 | 1.43% | 2 | 0.01% | -4496 | -20.82% | 21599 |
| Anne Arundel | 82687 | 44.17% | 101110 | 54.01% | 3331 | 1.78% | 79 | 0.04% | -18423 | -9.84% | 187207 |
| Baltimore (City) | 112805 | 74.54% | 35185 | 23.25% | 3228 | 2.13% | 120 | 0.08% | 77620 | 51.29% | 151338 |
| Baltimore (County) | 145262 | 51.55% | 131291 | 46.59% | 5117 | 1.82% | 140 | 0.05% | 13971 | 4.96% | 281810 |
| Calvert | 12687 | 42.46% | 16703 | 55.90% | 481 | 1.61% | 10 | 0.03% | -4016 | -13.44% | 29881 |
| Caroline | 2860 | 31.74% | 5957 | 66.12% | 192 | 2.13% | 1 | 0.01% | -3097 | -34.37% | 9010 |
| Carroll | 18893 | 30.19% | 42550 | 67.99% | 1114 | 1.78% | 26 | 0.04% | -23657 | -37.80% | 62583 |
| Cecil | 11600 | 40.73% | 16296 | 57.21% | 577 | 2.03% | 10 | 0.04% | -4696 | -16.49% | 28483 |
| Charles | 20938 | 50.77% | 19743 | 47.87% | 539 | 1.31% | 22 | 0.05% | 1195 | 2.90% | 41242 |
| Dorchester | 4183 | 39.28% | 6326 | 59.40% | 134 | 1.26% | 7 | 0.07% | -2143 | -20.12% | 10650 |
| Frederick | 29398 | 40.38% | 42174 | 57.93% | 1196 | 1.64% | 32 | 0.04% | -12776 | -17.55% | 72800 |
| Garrett | 2686 | 27.42% | 6995 | 71.42% | 110 | 1.12% | 3 | 0.03% | -4309 | -44.00% | 9794 |
| Harford | 32590 | 35.82% | 56703 | 62.32% | 1664 | 1.83% | 37 | 0.04% | -24113 | -26.50% | 90994 |
| Howard | 56873 | 53.90% | 47015 | 44.55% | 1577 | 1.49% | 59 | 0.06% | 9858 | 9.34% | 105524 |
| Kent | 3484 | 44.34% | 4239 | 53.95% | 134 | 1.71% | 1 | 0.01% | -755 | -9.61% | 7858 |
| Montgomery | 205264 | 67.16% | 96619 | 31.61% | 3578 | 1.17% | 152 | 0.05% | 108645 | 35.55% | 305613 |
| Prince George's | 154798 | 75.01% | 49484 | 23.98% | 1948 | 0.94% | 150 | 0.07% | 105314 | 51.03% | 206380 |
| Queen Anne's | 5935 | 33.03% | 11710 | 65.17% | 318 | 1.77% | 6 | 0.03% | -5775 | -32.14% | 17969 |
| St. Mary's | 11614 | 40.77% | 16381 | 57.50% | 482 | 1.69% | 11 | 0.04% | -4767 | -16.73% | 28488 |
| Somerset | 2651 | 39.53% | 3953 | 58.95% | 99 | 1.48% | 3 | 0.04% | -1302 | -19.42% | 6706 |
| Talbot | 5844 | 37.13% | 9686 | 61.55% | 200 | 1.27% | 8 | 0.05% | -3842 | -24.41% | 15738 |
| Washington | 15921 | 38.56% | 24773 | 59.99% | 582 | 1.41% | 17 | 0.04% | -8852 | -21.44% | 41293 |
| Wicomico | 10571 | 37.66% | 17074 | 60.83% | 405 | 1.44% | 17 | 0.06% | -6503 | -23.17% | 28067 |
| Worcester | 7537 | 37.47% | 12326 | 61.28% | 249 | 1.24% | 3 | 0.01% | -4789 | -23.81% | 20115 |
| Total | 965477 | 54.33% | 783185 | 44.07% | 27564 | 1.55% | 916 | 0.05% | 182292 | 10.26% | 1777142 |
Benjamin Louis Cardin is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007. Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as its speaker from 1979 to 1987. Cardin has never lost an election in his entire political career.
Michael Stephen Steele is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 until 2011; he was the first African-American to hold either office.
Kweisi Mfume is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Maryland's 7th congressional district, first serving from 1987 to 1996 and again since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, Mfume first left his seat to become the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a position he held from 1996 to 2004. In 2006, he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes, losing the Democratic primary to the eventual winner, Ben Cardin. Mfume returned to his former House seat in 2020 after it was left vacant by the death of Elijah Cummings.
The 2006 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican governor Bob Ehrlich ran for a second term, but was defeated by the Democratic nominee, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. Ehrlich was the only incumbent governor from either party to lose a general election in the 2006 midterms.
Kevin Bruce Zeese was an American lawyer, U.S. Senate candidate and political activist. He worked to end the war on drugs and mass incarceration, and was instrumental in organizing the 2011 Occupy encampment in Washington, D.C. at Freedom Plaza and occupying the Venezuelan Embassy in the District of Columbia. Zeese co-founded the news site PopularResistance.org in 2011 with his partner, Margeret Flowers. Zeese died of a heart attack on September 6, 2020.
Allan Jay Lichtman is an American historian who has taught at American University in Washington DC since 1973. He is best known for creating the Keys to the White House with Soviet seismologist Vladimir Keilis-Borok in 1981.
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The Maryland congressional elections of 2006 were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. The terms of all eight representatives to the United States House of Representatives expired on January 3, 2007, and therefore all were put up for contest. The winning candidates served a two-year term from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2009.
The Maryland Republican Party is the Maryland state branch of the Republican Party (GOP), headquartered in Annapolis. It is the state's minority party, controlling no statewide offices, minorities in both houses of the state legislature, and 1 of 8 U.S. House seats.
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On November 2, 1999, the city of Baltimore, Maryland, elected a new mayor, the 47th in the city's history. Primary elections were held to determine the nominees for the Democratic Party and Republican Party on September 14. Incumbent mayor Kurt Schmoke, a Democrat, opted not to run for reelection. Martin O'Malley, a member of the Baltimore City Council, won the election to succeed Schmoke.
This article covers the controversies of Maryland's 2006 campaign for the United States Senate between Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Michael Steele.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Dan Bongino and independent Rob Sobhani.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maryland, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maryland. It was held concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin was re-elected to a third and ultimately final term by a landslide margin of almost 35 points, the largest margin in any election for this seat since Maryland began holding direct elections for Senate in 1913.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Maryland, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. On March 17, 2020, Governor Larry Hogan announced that the primary election would be postponed from April 28 to June 2 due to coronavirus concerns. On March 26, the Maryland Board of Elections met to consider whether in-person voting should be used for June's primary, and recommended that voting in June be mail-in only.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Maryland. Democratic Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated Republican former Governor Larry Hogan in the contest to succeed Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin, who is not seeking a fourth term. Alsobrooks will be the first African American and second woman to represent Maryland in the Senate.
A special election was held on April 28, 2020, after a February 4, 2020 primary, to fill the remainder of the term in the United States House of Representatives for Maryland's 7th congressional district in the 116th U.S. Congress. Elijah Cummings, the incumbent representative, died in office on October 17, 2019.
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