# 2016 United States Senate election in Maryland

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Question P :
Government :
vte :
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.
Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski decided to retire after five terms in the Senate. Primary elections were held April 26, 2016, in which Chris Van Hollen and Kathy Szeliga were chosen as the Democratic and Republican party nominees, respectively. In addition, the Green Party chose Margaret Flowers and the Libertarian Party chose Arvin Vohra as their respective nominees.
Van Hollen was heavily favored to win the election. He ultimately won with over 60% of the vote. As typically occurs with the state's elections, most support for the Democratic nominee, Van Hollen, came from the densely populated Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area in central Maryland, while the Republican nominee, Szeliga, did well in the more sparsely populated areas on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland, and narrowly won Anne Arundel County, home to the state capital Annapolis, as well as exurban Frederick County.
This election was the first time since 1980 that a man won the Class 3 Senate seat in Maryland.

## Background

Mikulski first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1974, losing to Republican incumbent Charles Mathias. Mikulski then served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, succeeding the retiring Mathias. She was re-elected by large margins in 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2010. Shortly after being sworn in for her fifth term in 2011, she succeeded Margaret Chase Smith as the longest-serving female senator in U.S. history, and on March 17, 2012, she became the longest-serving female member of Congress in U.S. history, surpassing Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts, who served from 1925 to 1960. On March 2, 2015, Mikulski announced that she would not run for re-election to a sixth term in office.
In August 2013, Abby Livingston of Roll Call had predicted that a potential retirement by Mikulski would create "chaos" and "blow open Maryland's political bottleneck" because "the state's teeming political Democratic Party talent is backed up in lower offices." Among the ten Democrats who ran in the primary, only two had previously been elected to an office.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Freddy Donald Dickson Jr.
* Donna Edwards, U.S. Representative
* Ralph Jaffe, perennial candidate
* Theresa Scaldaferri
* Charles U. Smith, perennial candidate
* Violet Staley
* Blaine Taylor
* Ed Tinus, perennial candidate
* Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Representative
* Lih Young, perennial candidate

#### Declined

* Rushern Baker, Prince George's County Executive (endorsed Chris Van Hollen)
* Anthony Brown, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and nominee for Governor of Maryland in 2014 (ran for MD-04)
* Susan L. Burke, attorney
* Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative (ran for re-election)
* John Delaney, U.S. Representative (ran for re-election)
* Peter Franchot, Comptroller of Maryland
* Doug Gansler, former Attorney General of Maryland and candidate for Governor of Maryland in 2014
* Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative and House Minority Whip (ran for re-election)
* Benjamin Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP
* Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive
* Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, nominee for governor in 2002 and nominee for Maryland's 2nd congressional district in 1986
* Frank Kratovil, former U.S. Representative
* Kweisi Mfume, former U.S. Representative, former president and CEO of the NAACP and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006
* Barbara Mikulski, incumbent senator
* Heather Mizeur, former state delegate and candidate for governor in 2014
* Martin O'Malley, former governor of Maryland (ran for President)
* Thomas Perez, United States Secretary of Labor and former secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
* Jamie Raskin, state senator (ran for MD-08)
* Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore
* Dutch Ruppersberger, U.S. Representative (ran for re-election)
* John Sarbanes, U.S. Representative and son of former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (ran for re-election)
* Kenneth Ulman, former Howard County Executive and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014

### Debates

| Dates | Location | Van Hollen | Edwards | Link |
| March 25, 2016 | Baltimore, Maryland | Participant | Participant | |

### Endorsements

Federal politicians
* Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator (D-IL) and former United States Ambassador to New Zealand
* Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator (D-NY)
Statewide politicians
* Debra Davis, Charles County Commissioner
* Derrick Davis, Prince George's County Councilmember
* Doug Duncan, former Montgomery County Executive and former Mayor of Rockville
* Mel Franklin, Prince George's County Council Chairman
* Danielle Glaros, Prince George's County Councilmember
* Andrea Harrison, Prince George's County Councilmember
* Mary A. Lehman, Prince George's County Councilmember
* Karen S. Montgomery, state senator
* Edith J. Patterson, state delegate and former Charles County Commissioner
* Obie Patterson, Prince George's County Councilmember and former state delegate
* Curtis Smith, Indian Head Town Councilman
* Karen Toles, Prince George's County Councilmember
Other individuals
* Richard Stallman
* Barbra Streisand
Organizations
* Daily Kos
* Democracy for America
* EMILY's List
* Feminist Majority
* IBEW Local 26
* J Street
* Teamsters Local 639
* Women's Action for New Directions
Federal politicians
* Beverly Byron, former U.S. Representative (D-MD)
* Harry Reid, U.S. Senator (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader
* Dutch Ruppersberger, U.S. Representative (D-MD)
Governors
* Martin O'Malley, former governor (D-MD), 2007–2015
Statewide politicians
* Vanessa Atterbeary, state delegate
* Rushern Baker, Prince George's County Executive
* Kumar Barve, state delegate and former majority leader of the Maryland House of Delegates
* Joanne C. Benson, state senator
* Roger Berliner, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jerry Donald, Frederick County Councilmember
* Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jessica Fitzwater, Frederick County Councilmember
* Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Councilmember and former Mayor of Garrett Park
* Brian Frosh, Attorney General of Maryland
* Jan Gardner, Frederick County Executive
* James W. Gilchrist, state delegate
* Guy Guzzone, state senator
* Sheila E. Hixson, state delegate
* Tom Hucker, Montgomery County Councilmember and former state delegate
* Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive
* Sidney A. Katz, Montgomery County Councilmember and former Mayor of Gaithersburg
* Delores G. Kelley, state senator
* Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, nominee for governor in 2002 and nominee for Maryland's 2nd congressional district in 1986
* Marc Korman, state delegate
* Susan C. Lee, state senator
* Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Executive and former chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party
* George Leventhal, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Maggie McIntosh, state delegate
* Heather Mizeur, former state delegate and candidate for governor in 2014
* David Moon, state delegate
* Nancy Navarro, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jamie Raskin, state senator
* Craig L. Rice, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Hans Riemer, Montgomery County Councilmember
* William C. Smith, state delegate
* Dana Stein, state delegate
* Frank S. Turner, state delegate
* Ronald N. Young, state senator
* Robert Zirkin, state senator
Other individuals
* Oscar Ramirez, former Vice Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party
* Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor
* Mike Tidwell, founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
* Susan Turnbull, former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party
Newspapers
* The Baltimore Sun
* The Washington Post
Organizations
* J Street
* Teamsters Joint Council No. 55
* Teamsters Joint Council No. 62
Federal politicians
* Ben Cardin, U.S. Senator (D-MD)
* Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative (D-MD) and House Minority Whip
* Barbara Mikulski, retiring U.S. Senator for this seat (D-MD)
* Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative (D-CA) and House Minority Leader

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Donna Edwards | Chris Van Hollen | Other | Undecided |
| Monmouth University | April 18–20, 2016 | 300 | ± 5.7% | 36% | 52% | 1% | 11% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 15–17, 2016 | 492 | ± 4.4% | 33% | 42% | — | 25% |
| Marist College | April 5–9, 2016 | 775 | ± 3.5% | 38% | 44% | — | 18% |
| Washington Post/University of Maryland | March 30 – April 3, 2016 | 539 | ± 4.5% | 44% | 40% | — | 16% |
| Garin-Hart-Yang Research | March 28–30, 2016 | 604 | ± 4.9% | 40% | 45% | — | 15% |
| University of Baltimore | March 4–9, 2016 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 34% | 28% | — | 31% |
| Gonzales Research | February 29 – March 4, 2016 | 411 | ± 5.0% | 41% | 42% | — | 17% |
| Goucher College | February 13–18, 2016 | 307 | ± 5.6% | 39% | 37% | — | 24% |
| Gonzales Research | January 11–16, 2016 | 402 | ± 5% | 36% | 38% | — | 24% |
| University of Baltimore | November 13–17, 2015 | 419 | ± 4.8% | 19% | 28% | 40% | 13% |
| University of Baltimore | November 13–17, 2015 | 419 | ± 4.8% | 31% | 45% | — | 24% |
| Washington Post/University of Maryland | October 8–11, 2015 | 1,006 | ± 3.5% | 20% | 20% | 33% | 27% |
| Global Strategy Group (D-Edwards) | August 3–9, 2015 | 600 | ± 4% | 42% | 37% | — | 21% |
| Mellman Group (D-Cummings) | March 19–22, 2015 | 700 | ± 3.7% | 23% | 22% | 29% | 27% |

### Results

Democratic primary results, April 26 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chris Van Hollen | 470,320 | 53.2% |
| | Democratic | Donna Edwards | 343,620 | 38.9% |
| | Democratic | Freddie Dickson | 14,856 | 1.7% |
| | Democratic | Theresa Scaldaferri | 13,178 | 1.5% |
| | Democratic | Violet Staley | 10,244 | 1.2% |
| | Democratic | Lih Young | 8,561 | 1.0% |
| | Democratic | Charles Smith | 7,912 | 0.9% |
| | Democratic | Ralph Jaffe | 7,161 | 0.8% |
| | Democratic | Blaine Taylor | 5,932 | 0.7% |
| | Democratic | Ed Tinus | 2,560 | 0.3% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 884,344 | 100.0% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Chris Chaffee, candidate for MD-05 in 2010 and nominee for MD-05 in 2014
* Sean P. Connor
* Richard Douglas, attorney, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
* John Graziani, candidate for MD-04 in 2014
* Greg Holmes, candidate for MD-04 in 2012 and 2014 and Democratic state senate candidate in 2006
* Joseph Hooe, small business owner
* Chrys Kefalas, vice president of executive communications for the National Association of Manufacturers and deputy legal counsel under Governor Bob Ehrlich
* Mark McNicholas
* Lynn Richardson
* Anthony Seda
* Richard Shawver, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006
* Kathy Szeliga, state delegate and House Minority Whip
* Dave Wallace, businessman and nominee for MD-08 in 2014
* Garry Thomas Yarrington

#### Declined

* Dan Bongino, former United States Secret Service agent, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and nominee for Maryland's 6th congressional district in 2014 (moved to Florida)
* Ben Carson, author and retired director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital (running for President)
* Kendel Ehrlich, former First Lady of Maryland
* Robert Ehrlich, former governor of Maryland
* Barry Glassman, Harford County Executive
* Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, former state delegate and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014
* Andy Harris, U.S. Representative (running for re-election)
* Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland
* Mary Kane, former Secretary of State of Maryland and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010
* Allan Kittleman, Howard County Executive
* Connie Morella, former U.S. Representative and former United States Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
* Laura Neuman, former Anne Arundel County Executive
* Boyd Rutherford, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
* Steve Schuh, Anne Arundel County Executive
* Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2006

### Endorsements

Newspapers
* The Baltimore Sun
U.S. Senators (current and former)
* Mike Lee, Utah
* Trent Lott, Mississippi (former) and Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center
U.S. Representatives (current and former)
* Helen Bentley, Maryland (former)
* Andy Harris, Maryland
Individuals
* Ellen Sauerbrey, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration
Statewide politicians
* Christopher Adams, Maryland state delegate
* Kathy Afzali, Maryland state delegate
* Carl Anderton, Maryland state delegate
* Steve Arentz, Maryland state delegate
* Susan Aumann, Maryland state delegate
* Gail H. Bates, Maryland state senator
* Wendell R. Beitzel, Maryland state delegate
* Jason Buckel, Maryland state delegate
* MaryBeth Carrozza, Maryland state delegate
* Andrew Cassily, Maryland state delegate
* Bob Cassily, Maryland state senator
* Barrie Ciliberti, former Maryland state delegate and current University of Maryland University College professor
* John W. E. Cluster Jr., Maryland state delegate
* Bob Culver, Wicomico County Executive
* Adelaide C. Eckardt, Maryland state senator
* George C. Edwards, Maryland state senator
* Robert Flanagan, Maryland state delegate
* William Folden, Maryland state delegate
* Jeff Ghrist, Maryland state delegate
* Glen Glass, Maryland state delegate
* Robin Grammer, Maryland state delegate
* Stephen S. Hershey Jr., Maryland Senate Minority Whip
* Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland
* Kevin Hornberger, Maryland state delegate
* Michael Hough, Maryland state senator
* Seth Howard, Maryland state delegate
* Richard Impallaria, Maryland state delegate
* Jay Jacobs, Maryland state delegate
* J. B. Jennings, Maryland Senate Minority Leader
* Nic Kipke, Minority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates
* Trent Kittleman, Maryland state delegate
* Susan W. Krebs, Maryland state delegate
* Mike Lewis, Wicomico County Sheriff
* Bob Long, Maryland state delegate
* Michael Malone, Maryland state delegate
* Susan McComas, Maryland state delegate
* Tony McConkey, Maryland state delegate
* Mike McKay, Maryland state delegate
* Herb McMillan, Maryland state delegate
* Ric Metzger, Maryland state delegate
* Christian Miele, Maryland state delegate
* Tari Moore, Cecil County Executive
* Matthew Morgan, Maryland state delegate
* Wayne Norman, Maryland state senator
* Charles Otto, Maryland state delegate
* Neil Parrott, Maryland state delegate
* Justin Ready, Maryland state senator
* Edward R. Reilly, Maryland state senator
* Deb Rey, Maryland state delegate
* April Rose, Maryland state delegate
* Sid Saab, Maryland state delegate
* Johnny Salling, Maryland state senator
* Steve Schuh, Anne Arundel County Executive
* Audrey Scott, former chair of the Maryland Republican Party
* Andrew A. Serafini, Maryland state senator
* Haven Shoemaker, Maryland state delegate
* Bryan Simonaire, Maryland state senator
* Meagan Simonaire, Maryland state delegate
* David Vogt, Maryland state delegate
* Steve Waugh, Maryland state senator
* Christopher West, Maryland state delegate
* Brett Wilson, Maryland state delegate
* William Wivell, Maryland state delegate
Organizations
* American Conservative Union, grassroots conservative organization
* Citizens United, conservative non-profit organization
* Maryland Right to Life, pro-life organization
* RightNOW Women, conservative women's organization
* VIEWPAC, organization supporting conservative women officials

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kathy Szeliga | Richard Douglas | Barry Glassman | Chrys Kefalas | Anthony Seda | Undecided |
| Marist College | April 5–9, 2016 | 368 | ± 5.1% | 20% | 13% | – | 9% | – | 57% |
| Washington Post/University of Maryland | March 30 – April 3, 2016 | 283 | ± 7.5% | 15% | 9% | – | 11% | – | 46% |
| University of Baltimore | March 4–8, 2016 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 6% | 1% | – | 2% | <1% | 79% |
| University of Baltimore | November 13–17, 2015 | 307 | ± 5.6% | 15% | 9% | 8% | 5% | 4% | 59% |

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Kathy Szeliga | 135,337 | 35.6% |
| | Republican | Chris Chaffee | 52,066 | 13.7% |
| | Republican | Chrys Kefalas | 36,340 | 9.6% |
| | Republican | Richard Douglas | 29,007 | 7.6% |
| | Republican | Dave Wallace | 23,226 | 6.1% |
| | Republican | Sean Connor | 21,727 | 5.7% |
| | Republican | Lynn Richardson | 20,792 | 5.5% |
| | Republican | John Graziani | 16,722 | 4.4% |
| | Republican | Greg Holmes | 16,148 | 4.3% |
| | Republican | Mark McNicholas | 9,988 | 2.6% |
| | Republican | Joe Hooe | 8,282 | 2.2% |
| | Republican | Anthony Seda | 3,873 | 1.0% |
| | Republican | Richard Shawver | 3,155 | 0.8% |
| | Republican | Garry Yarrington | 2,988 | 0.8% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 379,651 | 100.0% |
Szeliga won the April 26, 2016, primary in Baltimore City and each of Maryland's counties except Calvert, St. Mary's, Charles, and Prince George's, in which Chris Chaffee received more votes.

## Third party and independent candidates
### Green Party

* Margaret Flowers, former pediatrician, healthcare activist and radio host

#### Results

Green Party primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Green | Margaret Flowers | 125 | 98.0% |
| | Green | None of the above | 3 | 2.0% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 128 | 100.0% |

### Independents

* Greg Dorsey
* Steve Gladstone
* Edward Shlikas
* Kay Young

### Libertarian Party

* Arvin Vohra, nominee for MD-05 in 2012 and for MD-04 in 2014

## General election
### Candidates

* Margaret Flowers (G), former pediatrician, healthcare activist and radio host
* Kathy Szeliga (R), state delegate and House Minority Whip
* Chris Van Hollen (D), U.S. Representative
* Arvin Vohra (L), nominee for MD-05 in 2012 and for MD-04 in 2014

### Debates

| Dates | Location | Van Hollen | Szeliga | Link |
| October 26, 2016 | Baltimore, Maryland | Participant | Participant | |

### Endorsements

Federal politicians
* Ben Cardin, U.S. Senator (D-MD)
* Beverly Byron, former U.S. Representative (D-MD)
* Steny Hoyer, U.S. Representative (D-MD) and House Minority Whip
* Barbara Mikulski, outgoing U.S. Senator for this seat (D-MD)
* Harry Reid, U.S. Senator (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader
* Dutch Ruppersberger, U.S. Representative (D-MD)
Statewide politicians
* Vanessa Atterbeary, state delegate
* Rushern Baker, Prince George's County Executive
* Kumar Barve, state delegate and former Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates
* Joanne C. Benson, state senator
* Roger Berliner, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jerry Donald, Frederick County Councilmember
* Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jessica Fitzwater, Frederick County Councilmember
* Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Councilmember and former Mayor of Garrett Park
* Brian Frosh, Attorney General of Maryland
* Jan Gardner, Frederick County Executive
* James W. Gilchrist, state delegate
* Guy Guzzone, state senator
* Sheila E. Hixson, state delegate
* Tom Hucker, Montgomery County Councilmember and former state delegate
* Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive
* Sidney A. Katz, Montgomery County Councilmember and former Mayor of Gaithersburg
* M.C. Keegan-Ayer, Frederick County Councilmember
* Delores G. Kelley, state senator
* Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, nominee for governor in 2002 and nominee for Maryland's 2nd congressional district in 1986
* Marc Korman, state delegate
* Susan C. Lee, state senator
* Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Executive and former chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party
* George Leventhal, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Maggie McIntosh, state delegate
* Heather Mizeur, former state delegate and candidate for governor in 2014
* David Moon, state delegate
* Nancy Navarro, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Jamie Raskin, state senator
* Craig L. Rice, Montgomery County Councilmember
* Hans Riemer, Montgomery County Councilmember
* William C. Smith, state delegate
* Dana Stein, state delegate
* Frank S. Turner, state delegate
* Ronald N. Young, state senator
* Robert Zirkin, state senator
Other individuals
* Oscar Ramirez, former Vice Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party
* Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor
* Mike Tidwell, founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
* Susan Turnbull, former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party
Newspapers
* The Baltimore Sun
* The Washington Post
Organizations
* J Street
* Teamsters Joint Council No. 55
* Teamsters Joint Council No. 62
Governors
* Larry Hogan, Maryland
U.S. Senators (current and former)
* Mike Lee, Utah
* Trent Lott, Mississippi (former) and Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center
U.S. Representatives (current and former)
* Helen Bentley, Maryland (former)
* Andy Harris, Maryland
Individuals
* David Bossie, former chief congressional investigator and president of Citizens United
* Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2010 nominee for senate in California and 2016 presidential candidate
* Amie Hoeber, former Deputy Under Secretary of the Army and 2016 congressional candidate for Maryland's 6th congressional district
* Chrys Kefalas, Vice President of Executive Communications for the National Association of Manufacturers and former Republican candidate for US Senate
* Ellen Sauerbrey, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration
* Audrey Scott, former chair of the Maryland Republican Party
* Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland and former chair of the Republican National Committee
* Diana Waterman, chairwoman of the Maryland Republican Party
Statewide politicians
* Christopher Adams, Maryland state delegate
* Kathy Afzali, Maryland state delegate
* Carl Anderton, Maryland state delegate
* Steve Arentz, Maryland state delegate
* Susan Aumann, Maryland state delegate
* Gail H. Bates, Maryland state senator
* Wendell R. Beitzel, Maryland state delegate
* Jason Buckel, Maryland state delegate
* MaryBeth Carrozza, Maryland state delegate
* Andrew Cassily, Maryland state delegate
* Bob Cassily, Maryland state senator
* Barrie Ciliberti, former Maryland state delegate and current University of Maryland University College professor
* John W. E. Cluster Jr., Maryland state delegate
* Bob Culver, Wicomico County Executive
* Adelaide C. Eckardt, Maryland state senator
* George C. Edwards, Maryland state senator
* Robert Flanagan, Maryland state delegate
* William Folden, Maryland state delegate
* Greg Fox, Howard County Councilman
* Jeff Ghrist, Maryland state delegate
* Glen Glass, Maryland state delegate
* Robin Grammer, Maryland state delegate
* Stephen S. Hershey Jr., Maryland Senate Minority Whip
* Kevin Hornberger, Maryland state delegate
* Michael Hough, Maryland state senator
* Seth Howard, Maryland state delegate
* Richard Impallaria, Maryland state delegate
* Jay Jacobs, Maryland state delegate
* J. B. Jennings, Maryland Senate Minority Leader
* Nic Kipke, Minority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates
* Allan H. Kittleman, Howard County Executive
* Trent Kittleman, Maryland state delegate
* Susan W. Krebs, Maryland state delegate
* Mike Lewis, Wicomico County Sheriff
* Bob Long, Maryland state delegate
* Michael Malone, Maryland state delegate
* Susan McComas, Maryland state delegate
* Tony McConkey, Maryland state delegate
* Mike McKay, Maryland state delegate
* Herb McMillan, Maryland state delegate
* Ric Metzger, Maryland state delegate
* Christian Miele, Maryland state delegate
* R. Clayton Mitchell Jr., former Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates (Democratic)
* Tari Moore, Cecil County Executive
* Matthew Morgan, Maryland state delegate
* Wayne Norman, Maryland state senator
* Charles Otto, Maryland state delegate
* Neil Parrott, Maryland state delegate
* Justin Ready, Maryland state senator
* Edward R. Reilly, Maryland state senator
* Deb Rey, Maryland state delegate
* April Rose, Maryland state delegate
* Sid Saab, Maryland state delegate
* Johnny Salling, Maryland state senator
* Andrew A. Serafini, Maryland state senator
* Haven Shoemaker, Maryland state delegate
* Bryan Simonaire, Maryland state senator
* Meagan Simonaire, Maryland state delegate
* Steve Schuh, Anne Arundel County Executive
* Audrey Scott, former chair of the Maryland Republican Party
* David Vogt, Maryland state delegate
* Steve Waugh, Maryland state senator
* Christopher West, Maryland state delegate
* Brett Wilson, Maryland state delegate
* William Wivell, Maryland state delegate
Newspapers
* Carroll County Times
Organizations
* American Conservative Union, grassroots conservative organization
* Citizens United, conservative non-profit organization
* Maggie's List, political action committee supporting fiscally conservative women in political office
* Maryland Right to Life, pro-life organization
* National Federation of Independent Business, small business association
* National Republican Senatorial Committee, Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate
* RightNOW Women, conservative women's organization
* VIEWPAC, organization supporting conservative women officials

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe D | November 2, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe D | November 3, 2016 |
| Daily Kos | Safe D | November 8, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Chris Van Hollen (D) | Kathy Szeliga (R) | Other | Undecided |
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,216 | ± 4.6% | 64% | 33% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,056 | ± 4.6% | 64% | 33% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28 – November 3, 2016 | 851 | ± 4.6% | 66% | 32% | — | 2% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27 – November 2, 2016 | 772 | ± 4.6% | 67% | 31% | — | 2% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 695 | ± 4.6% | 66% | 31% | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 740 | ± 4.6% | 66% | 31% | — | 3% |
| University of Maryland/Washington Post | September 27–30, 2016 | 706 | ± 4.0% | 58% | 29% | 5% | 6% |
| Goucher College | September 17–20, 2016 | 514 | ± 4.3% | 54% | 24% | 2% | 19% |
| OpinionWorks | August 18–30, 2016 | 754 | ± 3.6% | 55% | 26% | 1% | 19% |
| Public Policy Polling | April 15–17, 2016 | 879 | ± 3.3% | 53% | 25% | — | 22% |

### Results

United States Senate election in Maryland, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Chris Van Hollen | 1,659,907 | 60.89% | −1.30% |
| | Republican | Kathy Szeliga | 972,557 | 35.67% | −0.08% |
| | Green | Margaret Flowers | 89,970 | 3.30% | +2.17% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3,736 | 0.14% | +0.03% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,726,170 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### By county

| County | Chris Van Hollen Democratic | Chris Van Hollen Democratic | Kathy Szeliga Republican | Kathy Szeliga Republican | Margaret Flowers Green | Margaret Flowers Green | Write-in Write-in | Write-in Write-in | Margin | Margin | Total votes cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes cast |
| Allegany | 8,549 | 32.1% | 16,993 | 63.8% | 1,113 | 4.2% | 32 | 0.1% | -8444 | -31.7% | 26687 |
| Anne Arundel | 116,422 | 47.8% | 119,760 | 49.2% | 7,374 | 3.0% | 305 | 0.1% | -3338 | -1.4% | 243556 |
| Baltimore (County) | 189,041 | 56.4% | 135,846 | 40.5% | 10,212 | 3.0% | 511 | 0.2% | 53195 | 15.9% | 335099 |
| Baltimore (City) | 171,318 | 82.7% | 26,353 | 12.7% | 9,550 | 4.6% | 463 | 0.2% | 144965 | 70.0% | 207684 |
| Calvert | 17,094 | 40.1% | 23,867 | 56.0% | 1,691 | 4.0% | 76 | 0.2% | -6773 | -15.9% | 42654 |
| Caroline | 4,306 | 32.6% | 8,560 | 64.9% | 327 | 2.5% | 11 | 0.1% | -4254 | -32.3% | 13193 |
| Carroll | 25,415 | 29.9% | 57,540 | 67.6% | 2,149 | 2.5% | 80 | 0.1% | -32125 | -37.7% | 85184 |
| Cecil | 13,864 | 33.4% | 26,143 | 63.0% | 1,517 | 3.7% | 58 | 0.1% | -12279 | -29.6% | 41478 |
| Charles | 45,834 | 63.6% | 24,038 | 33.4% | 2,159 | 3.0% | 105 | 0.1% | 21796 | 30.2% | 72041 |
| Dorchester | 6,127 | 44.4% | 7,351 | 53.3% | 321 | 2.3% | 15 | 0.1% | -1224 | -8.9% | 13814 |
| Frederick | 52,651 | 46.0% | 57,432 | 50.2% | 4,382 | 3.8% | 163 | 0.1% | -4781 | -4.2% | 114628 |
| Garrett | 2,402 | 19.3% | 9,655 | 77.7% | 371 | 3.0% | 18 | 0.1% | -7253 | -58.4% | 12446 |
| Harford | 44,758 | 35.9% | 76,563 | 61.4% | 3,431 | 2.8% | 148 | 0.1% | -31805 | -25.5% | 124900 |
| Howard | 89,622 | 60.9% | 52,577 | 35.8% | 4,854 | 3.3% | 224 | 0.2% | 37045 | 25.1% | 147277 |
| Kent | 4,320 | 47.1% | 4,641 | 50.6% | 205 | 2.2% | 4 | 0.04% | -321 | -3.5% | 9170 |
| Montgomery | 307,892 | 74.9% | 91,966 | 22.4% | 11,121 | 2.7% | 570 | 0.1% | 215926 | 52.5% | 410979 |
| Prince George's | 305,992 | 88.1% | 30,451 | 8.8% | 10,961 | 3.2% | 652 | 0.2% | 275541 | 79.3% | 347056 |
| Queen Anne's | 7,834 | 31.9% | 16,178 | 65.8% | 576 | 2.3% | 19 | 0.1% | -8344 | -33.9% | 24607 |
| Somerset | 3,610 | 41.6% | 4,894 | 56.4% | 166 | 1.9% | 10 | 0.1% | -1284 | -14.8% | 8670 |
| St. Mary's | 16,338 | 36.7% | 26,395 | 59.4% | 1,730 | 3.9% | 65 | 0.1% | -10057 | -22.7% | 44428 |
| Talbot | 8,208 | 43.6% | 10,212 | 54.3% | 391 | 2.1% | 18 | 0.1% | -2004 | -10.7% | 18829 |
| Washington | 21,422 | 36.3% | 35,312 | 59.8% | 2,298 | 3.9% | 89 | 0.2% | -13890 | -23.5% | 59121 |
| Wicomico | 16,692 | 43.3% | 20,713 | 53.7% | 1,163 | 3.0% | 56 | 0.1% | -4021 | -10.4% | 38568 |
| Worcester | 9,134 | 36.1% | 15,462 | 61.1% | 690 | 2.7% | 26 | 0.1% | -6328 | -25.0% | 25312 |

##### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Dorchester (largest municipality: Cambridge)
* Somerset (largest municipality: Princess Anne)
* Wicomico (largest municipality: Salisbury)
* Anne Arundel (largest municipality: Glen Burnie)
* Kent (largest municipality: Chestertown)
* Talbot (largest municipality: Easton)

#### By congressional district

Van Hollen 7 of 8 congressional districts.
| District | Van Hollen | Szeliga | Representative |
| 1st | 35% | 62% | Andy Harris |
| 2nd | 61% | 36% | Dutch Ruppersberger |
| 3rd | 62% | 35% | John Sarbanes |
| 4th | 76% | 21% | Donna Edwards |
| 4th | 76% | 21% | Anthony Brown |
| 5th | 64% | 33% | Steny Hoyer |
| 6th | 57% | 39% | John Delaney |
| 7th | 72% | 24% | Elijah Cummings |
| 8th | 64% | 33% | Chris Van Hollen |
| 8th | 64% | 33% | Jamie Raskin |