2012 United States Senate election in Maryland

2012 United States Senate election in Maryland

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Turnout	68.2%
Nominee Ben Cardin Dan Bongino Rob Sobhani Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 1,474,028 693,291 430,934 Percentage 55.98% 26.33% 16.37%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Cardin:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%      70–80%     80–90%     >90% Bongino:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Sobhani:     30–40%     40–50% Tie:     30–40%     40–50%
U.S. senator before election Ben Cardin Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ben Cardin Democratic

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Raymond Blagmon ^[1]
• Ben Cardin, incumbent U.S. Senator ^[2]
• J.P. Cusick ^[1]
• Christopher Garner, engineer and businessman ^[3]
• Ralph Jaffe, former political science teacher ^[1]
• C. Anthony Muse, State Senator ^[4]
• Blaine Taylor
• Ed Tinus
• Lih Young, perennial candidate ^[1]

Results

Results by county:

  Cardin—80–90%

  Cardin—70–80%

  Cardin—60–70%

  Cardin—50–60%

Democratic primary results ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Cardin (incumbent)	240,704	74.2
	Democratic	C. Anthony Muse	50,807	15.7
	Democratic	Chris Garner	9,274	2.9
	Democratic	Raymond Levi Blagmon	5,909	1.8
	Democratic	J. P. Cusick	4,778	1.5
	Democratic	Blaine Taylor	4,376	1.3
	Democratic	Lih Young	3,993	1.2
	Democratic	Ralph Jaffe	3,313	1.0
	Democratic	Ed Tinus	1,064	0.3
Total votes			324,218	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Joseph Alexander
• Dan Bongino, former United States Secret Service agent ^[8]
• Bro Broadus
• William Capps ^[1]
• Richard Douglas, attorney and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense ^[9]
• Rick Hoover ^[1]
• David Jones ^[10]
• John B. Kimble, behavioral scientist and perennial candidate
• Brian Vaeth, retired firefighter
• Corrogan R. Vaughn, perennial candidate ^[1]

Declined

• Bob Ehrlich, former Governor of Maryland ^[11]
• Brian Murphy, candidate for Governor in 2010 ^[12]
• Eric Wargotz, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 ^[13]

Results

Results by county:

  Bongino—40–50%

  Bongino—<40%

  Douglas—<40%

  Douglas—40–50%

Republican primary results ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bongino	68,597	33.6
	Republican	Richard J. Douglas	57,776	28.3
	Republican	Joseph Alexander	18,171	8.9
	Republican	Bro Broadus	11,020	5.4
	Republican	Rick Hoover	10,787	5.3
	Republican	John B. Kimble	10,506	5.1
	Republican	David Jones	8,380	4.1
	Republican	Corrogan R. Vaughn	8,158	4.0
	Republican	William Thomas Capps, Jr.	7,092	3.5
	Republican	Brian Vaeth	3,781	1.9
Total votes			204,268	100.0

General election

Candidates

• Ben Cardin (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Senator and former U.S. Representative
• Daniel Bongino (Republican), former United States Secret Service agent
• Dean Ahmad (Libertarian), president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute
• S. Rob Sobhani (independent), chairman and CEO of Caspian Group Holdings
• Brandy Baker (Socialist, certified write-in) ^[14]

Debates

A candidate's forum was held on Baltimore's WOLB radio on October 24 including Senator Ben Cardin, Rob Sobhani, Dean Ahmad and Daniel Bongino. ^{[15] [16]} An October 30 debate at Salisbury University to have featured those candidates and independent Ed Tinus ^[17] was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. ^[18]

Campaign

In 2006, then-U.S. Representative Ben Cardin defeated then-Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele 54%–44%. Eric Wargotz, the Republican nominee in 2010 had considered entering the race but ultimately did not.

In both 2009 and 2010, National Journal magazine rated Cardin as tied for most liberal senator, based on his voting record. As of June 30, Cardin had $1.8 million in his campaign account. ^[19]

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Ben Cardin (D)	$3,758,957	$2,248,013	$1,896,329	$0
Daniel Bongino (R)	$188,419	$172,509	$15,909	$0
Dean Ahmad (L)	$8,565	$6,288	$2,276	$0
S. Rob Sobhani (I)	$6,472,715	$6,043,030	$429,683	$0
Source: Federal Election Commission [20] [21] [22] [23]

Top contributors

^[24]

Ben Cardin			Daniel Bongino
Exelon Corp	$39,250		NORPAC	$21,730
News Corp	$35,375		Avjet Corp	$5,000
Johns Hopkins University	$30,300		Citizens United	$5,000
Comcast Corp	$26,123		Oheka Castle	$5,000
Ernst & Young	$26,000		Miller & Long Concrete Construction	$4,891
Gallagher, Evelius & Jones	$24,250		Perinatal Center of Oklahoma	$4,790
Venable LLP	$23,750		NYPD	$3,950
DLA Piper	$23,250		Fitzgerald Shamrock Restaurant	$3,947
DaVita Inc.	$22,000		Davidsonville Veterinary Clinic	$3,250
Blue Cross & Blue Shield	$20,750		Constitutional Conservatives Fund	$2,500

Top industries

^[25]

Ben Cardin			Daniel Bongino
Lawyers/Law Firms	$441,242		Retired	$20,152
Real Estate	$354,920		General Contractors	$8,641
Health Professionals	$317,509		Civil Servants/Public Officials	$8,135
Financial Institutions	$301,161		Health Professionals	$6,540
Pro-Israel	$236,792		Real Estate	$5,700
Retired	$222,410		Republican/Conservative	$5,500
Lobbyists	$213,559		Lodging/Tourism	$5,000
Insurance	$191,300		Computers/Internet	$4,110
Leadership PACs	$191,000		Food industry & Beverage	$3,947
Entertainment industry	$188,806		Financial Institutions	$3,800

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [26]	Solid D	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [27]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report [28]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics [29]	Safe D	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Cardin (D)	Daniel Bongino (R)	Rob Sobhani (I)	Other	Undecided
Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies [30]	September 17–23, 2012	813	±3.5%	50%	22%	21%	—	7%
The Washington Post [31]	October 11–15, 2012	843	±4%	53%	22%	14%	2%	9%
OpinionWorks [32]	October 20–23, 2012	801	±3.5%	50%	24%	14%	2%	10%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Cardin (D)	Generic Republican	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [33]	July 10–12, 2010	569	±4.1%	51%	33%	—	16%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Cardin (D)	Michael Steele (R)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling [33]	July 10–12, 2010	569	±4.1%	58%	28%	—	14%

Results

2012 United States Senate election in Maryland ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ben Cardin (incumbent)	1,474,028	55.98%	+1.77%
	Republican	Dan Bongino	693,291	26.33%	−17.86%
	Independent	Rob Sobhani	430,934	16.37%	N/A
	Libertarian	Dean Ahmad	32,252	1.22%	N/A
	Write-in		2,729	0.10%	+0.05%
Total votes			2,633,234	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

County	Ben Cardin Democratic		Dan Bongino Republican		Rob Sobhani Independent		Dean Ahmad Libertarian		Other Other		Margin		Total Votes Cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Allegany	9507	33.38%	14667	51.50%	3920	14.60%	367	1.29%	18	0.06%	-5160	-18.12%	28479
Anne Arundel	108328	42.62%	93804	36.90%	48503	19.08%	3320	1.31%	241	0.09%	14524	5.71%	254196
Baltimore	198290	52.55%	95297	25.25%	78887	20.91%	4434	1.18%	439	0.12%	102993	27.29%	377347
Baltimore City	189128	77.21%	16931	6.91%	35724	14.58%	2930	1.20%	232	0.09%	172197	62.63%	244945
Calvert	17296	39.36%	17272	39.31%	8806	20.04%	523	1.19%	43	0.10%	24	0.05%	43940
Caroline	4423	33.93%	5898	45.24%	2575	19.75%	122	0.94%	18	0.14%	-1475	-11.31%	13036
Carroll	22837	26.69%	41795	48.86%	19733	23.07%	1118	1.31%	66	0.08%	-18958	-22.16%	85549
Cecil	14994	36.41%	18452	44.81%	7137	17.33%	549	1.33%	47	0.11%	-3458	-8.40%	41179
Charles	42638	58.24%	16752	22.88%	13036	17.81%	721	0.98%	58	0.08%	25886	35.36%	73205
Dorchester	6552	44.29%	5526	37.36%	2567	17.35%	132	0.89%	16	0.11%	1026	6.94%	14793
Frederick	45161	39.80%	48563	42.80%	17913	15.79%	1720	1.52%	112	0.10%	-3402	-3.00%	113469
Garrett	3448	27.87%	8263	66.79%	492	3.98%	163	1.32%	6	0.05%	-4815	-38.92%	12372
Harford	43274	35.04%	45404	36.77%	33148	26.84%	1535	1.24%	126	0.10%	-2130	-1.72%	123487
Howard	80265	53.66%	42892	28.67%	23815	15.92%	2462	1.65%	148	0.10%	37373	24.98%	149582
Kent	4312	44.45%	3608	37.20%	1660	17.11%	88	0.91%	32	0.33%	704	7.26%	9700
Montgomery	293715	66.21%	94010	21.19%	49611	11.18%	5790	1.31%	455	0.10%	199705	45.02%	443581
Prince George's	305771	81.40%	25080	6.68%	40937	10.90%	3521	0.94%	339	0.09%	280691	70.50%	375648
Queen Anne's	7385	30.13%	12540	51.15%	4344	17.72%	217	0.89%	28	0.11%	-5155	-21.03%	24514
St. Mary's	17566	38.29%	19480	42.46%	8065	17.58%	723	1.58%	42	0.09%	-1914	-4.17%	45876
Somerset	4686	46.70%	3568	35.56%	1682	16.76%	86	0.86%	13	0.13%	1118	11.14%	10035
Talbot	8100	40.46%	8986	44.89%	2729	13.63%	173	0.86%	32	0.16%	-886	-4.43%	20020
Washington	19702	32.56%	28161	46.53%	11788	19.48%	824	1.36%	41	0.07%	-8459	-13.98%	60516
Wicomico	16974	41.41%	15072	36.77%	8426	20.56%	452	1.10%	63	0.15%	1902	4.64%	40987
Worcester	9676	36.21%	11270	42.18%	5436	20.34%	282	1.06%	56	0.21%	-1594	-5.97%	26720
Total	1474028	55.98%	693291	26.33%	430934	16.37%	32252	1.22%	2729	0.10%	780737	28.90%	2633234

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Anne Arundel (largest municipality: Annapolis)
• Calvert (largest municipality: Chesapeake Beach)
• Dorchester (largest municipality: Cambridge)
• Somerset (largest municipality: Princess Anne)
• Wicomico (largest municipality: Salisbury)

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States elections

References

1. "Md. Former Teacher Plans Run for U.S. Senate". CBS Baltimore . Associated Press. September 21, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
2. "Maryland Politics: Cardin to kick off campaign - Politics and Policy from Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington". The Baltimore Sun .
3. "Political Notes: O'Malley receives planning award". The Capital . Annapolis, Maryland. January 12, 2012.
4. Fritze, John (January 5, 2012). "State Sen. Muse to challenge Cardin for Senate". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012.
5. Fritze, John (April 3, 2012). "Ben Cardin wins Senate primary". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
6. "Ex-agent Bongino wins Republican Senate primary; will face Sen. Benjamin Cardin in November". The Washington Post . April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
7. "Official 2012 Presidential Primary Election results for U.S. Senator". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
8. "Ex-Secret Service Agent To Run For Senate". CBS Baltimore . Associated Press. May 31, 2011.
9. "John Bolton says Md. is "winnable" for GOP". The Baltimore Sun. March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
10. "Politics1 Online Guide to Maryland Politics". politics1.com. November 28, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
11. Farrell, Liam (December 8, 2010). "Ehrlich not interested in another office". The Capital. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
12. "Maryland Politics: Murphy to chair Senate campaign, not run, in 2012 - Politics and Policy from Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington". The Baltimore Sun.
13. Fritze, John (November 3, 2011). "Wargotz forgoes Senate run". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
14. "Facebook". Facebook .
15. Razzi, Robin (October 24, 2012). "Senatorial Debate 2012: What You Missed". WOLB . Retrieved October 25, 2012.
16. White, Brian (October 25, 2012). "Maryland Senate candidates debate on economy". Cumberland Times-News . Retrieved November 4, 2012.
17. "Maryland Gazette Political Notes: Cardin, Bongino, Sobhani set first debate in Salisbury". Maryland Gazette . October 20, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
18. Kunkle, Fredrick (November 2, 2012). "Rob Sobhani, independent in Maryland Senate race, makes closing argument". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2012. Hurricane Sandy forced Salisbury University to call off a debate that would have put him on the same stage with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Republican challenger Daniel Bongino.
19. Wagner, John; Pershing, Ben (September 28, 2011). "In Md., Anthony Muse considers primary challenge to Sen. Cardin". The Washington Post.
20. Ben Cardin
21. Daniel Bongino Campaign Finances
22. "Committee/Candidate Search".
23. S. Rob Sobhani Campaign Finances
24. "Congressional Elections: Maryland Senate Race: 2012 Cycle - OpenSecrets".
25. "Congressional Elections: New York District 01 Race: 2012 Cycle - OpenSecrets".
26. "2012 Senate Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
27. "2012 Senate". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
28. "2012 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
29. "2012 Elections Map - Battle for the Senate 2012". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
30. Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies
31. The Washington Post
32. OpinionWorks
33. Public Policy Polling
34. 2012 General Election Results, Maryland State Board of Elections, November 28, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2018.

External links

• Maryland State Board of Elections
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation
• Candidate issue positions at On the Issues
• United States Senate elections in Maryland, 2012 at Ballotpedia

Daniel Bongino

• Daniel Bongino for U.S. Senate
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart

Ben Cardin

• Ben Cardin for U.S. Senate

Rob Sobhani

• Rob Sobhani for U.S. Senate