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2006 United States Senate election in Maryland

← 2000 November 7, 2006 2012 →

Nominee Ben Cardin Michael Steele Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 965,477 787,182 Percentage 54.21% 44.19%

County results Cardin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Steele:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Paul Sarbanes Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Ben Cardin Democratic

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v t e

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Benjamin L. Cardin, U.S. representative
• David Dickerson, engineer
• George T. English, economist
• James H. Hutchison, psychiatrist
• Anthony Jaworski
• A. Robert Kaufman, social activist and perennial candidate
• Allan Lichtman, professor at American University
• Thomas McCaskill, physicist
• Kweisi Mfume, former U.S. representative and former president of the NAACP
• Josh Rales, entrepreneur
• Dennis F. Rasmussen, former Baltimore County Executive
• Bob Robinson
• Theresa C. Scaldaferri
• Mike Schaefer, attorney
• Charles Ulysses Smith, activist
• Blaine Taylor, writer
• Joseph Werner, attorney
• Lih Young, perennial candidate

Withdrew

• Lise Van Susteren, psychiatrist and sister of Greta Van Susteren

Declined

• Chris Van Hollen, U.S. representative

Campaign

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. 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. 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.

Debates

• Complete video of debate, August 31, 2006

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Ray Bly, small businessman
• Earl S. Gordon
• Thomas J. Hampton, accountant
• John B. Kimble, behavioral researcher
• Edward Raymond Madej
• Daniel Muffoletto, small businessman
• Richard Shawver, activist
• Michael Steele, Lieutenant Governor and former chairman of the Maryland Republican Party
• Corrogan R. Vaughn, perennial candidate
• Daniel "The Wig Man" Vovak, ghostwriter and owner of Greenwich Creations

Campaign

Michael S. Steele was expected to win the Republican primary, and the Baltimore Sun wrote the month before that he faced "only nominal opposition". Among a field of nine other candidates, the only Republican receiving sufficient media coverage was Daniel Vovak.

Results

General election

Candidates

• Michael S. Steele (R) – lieutenant governor
• Ben Cardin (D) – U.S. congressman
• Kevin Zeese (G) – (Campaign website). Zeese won the nominations of the Maryland Green Party, the Libertarian Party of Maryland, and the Populist Party of Maryland, the first time all three parties had nominated the same candidate. However, a Maryland law passed in April 2006 prohibited such fusion candidacies, so Zeese, who was a registered Green Party member, was listed on the ballot as only the Green Party candidate.

Campaign

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.

Controversies

Both Steele and Cardin made controversial statements and advertising throughout the campaign.

Debates

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cardin primarily attacked Steele over his close relations with President Bush, including pictures of Bush and Steele in Cardin's TV ads. Steele focused on low taxes, less government spending, free markets and national security.

• Complete video of debate, October 25, 2006
• Complete video of debate, October 29, 2006

Predictions

Polling

Results

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, 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.

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Allegany (largest municipality: Cumberland)
• Cecil (largest municipality: Elkton)
• Kent (largest municipality: Chestertown)
• St. Mary's (largest municipality: California)
• Worcester (largest municipality: Ocean Pines)
• 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

• 2006 United States Senate elections
• 2006 United States elections

References

1. "Joseph Werner". Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
2. Mosk, Matthew (April 22, 2006). "Van Susteren Quits, Citing Fundraising Lag". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
3. Craig, Tim; Wagner, John (July 12, 2005). "Van Hollen Says He Won't Run for Senate". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
4. Mosk, Matthew (September 1, 2006). "Mfume, Cardin Stress Contrasts In TV Debate". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
5. "Free Campaign websites, Free Candidate Search engine, 24/7 elections and politics". Vovak.politicalgateway.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
6. Mosk, Matthew (September 1, 2006). "Mfume, Cardin Stress Contrasts In TV Debate". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
7. "Allan J. Lichtman". Baltimore Sun. November 18, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
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10. Public Opinion Strategies
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13. SurveyUSA
14. ^ Maryland State Board of Elections. "Official 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for U.S. Senator". elections.state.md.us. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
15. "Maryland: Politics – Senate candidates get national airing". The Baltimore Sun. August 26, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
16. David Nitkin on state politics issues; Editor addresses energy rates, upcoming elections, personnel probe Archived February 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, The Baltimore Sun, May 16, 2006.
17. John Wagner, Zeese Wins the Triple Crown, The Washington Post, June 13, 2006.
18. "Zeese, Steele, Cardin Debate". Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
19. Mosk, Matthew; Marimow, Ann E. (October 26, 2006). "Cardin, Steele Square Off in Televised Debate". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
20. Mosk, Matthew; Marimow, Ann E. (October 30, 2006). "Debate Puts Steele on Defense". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
21. "Final Debate For Maryland U.S. Senate Race". Retrieved January 13, 2010.
22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
23. Steele, Michael (February 8, 2008). "Michael Steele : Now Is the Time to Act". Townhall.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
24. "2006 Senate Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
25. "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
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51. VC Research (R)
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53. Mason-Dixon/MSNBC
54. Public Opinion Strategies (R)
55. Reuters/Zogby
56. USA Today/Gallup
57. Rasmussen
58. SurveyUSA
59. VC Research (R)
60. Garin Hart Yang (D)
61. Rasmussen
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63. Reuters/Zogby
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66. Mason-Dixon/MSNBC
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68. "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for U.S. Senator". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 19, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2010.

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U.S. President	1788 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
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U.S. House	1789 1790 1792 1794 1798 1803 1806 1822 1826 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1844 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
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Comptroller	1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
County Executive	2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2025 sp
County offices	2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
See also: Political party strength in Maryland

• United States Senate elections in Maryland
• 2006 United States Senate elections
• 2006 Maryland elections
• Michael Steele