# 1988 United States Senate election in Maryland

Elections in Maryland :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1788–89
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
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1788
1790
1791
1793
1793 sp
1795
1796
1796 sp
1797 sp
1800 sp
1801 sp
1802
1806
1806 sp
1808
1809
1813 sp
1816 sp
1819
1819 sp
1821
1822 sp
1825
1826 sp
1827
1831
1833
1835 sp
1836 sp
1837
1838 sp
1839
1839 sp
1841 sp
1843
1849
1850 sp
1851
1855
1861
1864 sp
1865 sp
1868 sp
1874
1878
1880
1884
1886
1890
1892
1892 sp
1896
1898
1902
1904
1908
1908 sp
1910
1913 sp
1916
1914
1920
1922
1928
1926
1932
1934
1938
1940
1944
1946
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1789
1790
1791
3rd sp
1792
1793
2nd sp
1794
2nd sp
3rd sp
1796
2nd sp
3rd sp
1798
7th sp
1801
1802
2nd sp
1803
1804
4th sp
1806
7th sp
1808
1810
4th sp
7th sp
1811
6th sp
1812
1814
1816
3rd sp
5th sp
1818
1820
1822
1823
5th sp
1824
1826
2nd sp
1829
1831
1832
6th sp
1833
1834
1st sp
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
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
1st sp
1894
1st sp
5th sp
1896
1898
1900
1st sp
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1913
3rd sp
1914
1st sp
1916
1918
2nd sp
1920
1922
1924
5th sp
1926
1928
1930
1932
4th sp
1934
1936
1938
1939
1st sp
5th sp
1940
1941
6th sp
1942
1944
1946
1947
3rd sp
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1971
1st sp
1972
1973
1st sp
1974
1976
1978
1980
1981
5th sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
7th sp
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
4th sp
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
7th sp
2022
2024
6th :
State government
General elections
2006
2010
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1838
1841
1844
1847
1850
1853
1857
1861
1864
1867
1871
1875
1879
1883
1887
1891
1895
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1969 sp
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Comptroller elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Senate elections
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
House of Delegates elections
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
County government
County executive elections
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2025 sp
County offices
2006
2010
2018
2022 :
Ballot measures
1992
Question 6
2012
Question 4
Question 6
2022
Question 4
2024
Question 1 :
Annapolis
Mayoral elections
2017
2021
2025 :
Baltimore
Mayoral elections
1899
1903
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003–04
2007
2011
2016
2020
2024
Ballot measures
Question P :
Government :
vte :
The 1988 United States Senate Election in Maryland was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes was reelected to a third term in a landslide. As in 1982, Sarbanes won strongly Republican Garrett County, which has never supported a Democratic presidential candidate and has not voted Democratic in a Senate election since this election. This is the last time that Maryland voted for a Senate candidate and a presidential candidate of different political parties.

## Candidates
### Democratic

* Paul Sarbanes, incumbent U.S. Senator

### Republican

* Alan Keyes, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs

## Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul Sarbanes (incumbent) | 999,166 | 61.79% |
| | Republican | Alan Keyes | 617,537 | 38.19% |
| | Independent | Imad A. Ahmad (Write-in) | 349 | 0.02% |
| | Independent | Rashaad Ali (Write-in) | 13 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,617,065 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### Results by county

| County | Paul S. Sarbanes Democratic | Paul S. Sarbanes Democratic | Alan Keyes Republican | Alan Keyes Republican | Rashaad Ali Independent | Rashaad Ali Independent | Imad A. Ahmad Independent | Imad A. Ahmad Independent | Margin | Margin | Total Votes Cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total Votes Cast |
| Allegany | 14991 | 59.38% | 10254 | 40.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 4737 | 18.76% | 25245 |
| Anne Arundel | 77647 | 54.41% | 65053 | 45.58% | 2 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.00% | 12594 | 8.82% | 142709 |
| Baltimore (City) | 175059 | 79.82% | 44231 | 20.17% | 6 | 0.00% | 22 | 0.01% | 130828 | 59.65% | 219318 |
| Baltimore (County) | 157701 | 58.63% | 111251 | 41.36% | 1 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.01% | 46450 | 17.27% | 268968 |
| Calvert | 7915 | 50.08% | 7890 | 49.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 25 | 0.16% | 15805 |
| Caroline | 3543 | 55.50% | 2841 | 44.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 702 | 11.00% | 6384 |
| Carroll | 19305 | 46.12% | 22551 | 53.87% | 1 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.01% | -3246 | -7.75% | 41860 |
| Cecil | 10607 | 56.92% | 8022 | 43.05% | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.04% | 2585 | 13.87% | 18636 |
| Charles | 16238 | 56.35% | 12580 | 43.65% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 3658 | 12.69% | 28818 |
| Dorchester | 4979 | 56.20% | 3881 | 43.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1098 | 12.39% | 8860 |
| Frederick | 23997 | 49.55% | 24423 | 50.43% | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 0.02% | -426 | -0.88% | 48430 |
| Garrett | 3882 | 51.41% | 3669 | 48.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 213 | 2.82% | 7551 |
| Harford | 33192 | 54.25% | 27992 | 45.75% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.01% | 5200 | 8.50% | 61188 |
| Howard | 43521 | 54.30% | 36602 | 45.67% | 2 | 0.00% | 18 | 0.02 | 6919 | 8.63% | 80143 |
| Kent | 3488 | 59.76% | 2349 | 40.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1139 | 19.51% | 5837 |
| Montgomery | 198484 | 62.45% | 119155 | 37.49% | 0 | 0.00% | 206 | 0.06% | 79329 | 24.96% | 317845 |
| Prince George's | 143485 | 69.65% | 62476 | 30.33% | 1 | 0.00% | 56 | 0.03% | 81009 | 39.32% | 206018 |
| Queen Anne's | 5636 | 53.01% | 4996 | 46.99% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 640 | 6.02% | 10632 |
| St. Mary's | 10478 | 58.98% | 7285 | 41.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.01% | 3193 | 17.97% | 17764 |
| Somerset | 3200 | 52.08% | 2944 | 47.92% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 256 | 4.17% | 6144 |
| Talbot | 5523 | 50.40% | 5435 | 49.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 88 | 0.80% | 10958 |
| Washington | 17513 | 49.77% | 17674 | 50.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | -161 | -0.46% | 35187 |
| Wicomico | 12468 | 52.22% | 11406 | 47.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1062 | 4.45% | 23874 |
| Worcester | 6314 | 53.10% | 5577 | 46.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 737 | 6.20% | 11891 |
| Total | 999166 | 61.67% | 620537 | 38.30% | 13 | 0.00% | 349 | 0.02% | 378629 | 23.37% | 1620065 |