# 2006 United States Senate election in Maryland

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Question P :
Government :
vte :
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

| Source | Date | Ben Cardin | A. Robert Kaufman | Allan Lichtman | Kweisi Mfume | Josh Rales | Dennis F. Rasmussen |
| The Washington Post | June 25, 2006 | 26% | 2% | 4% | 33% | 0% | 4% |
| The Baltimore Sun | July 17, 2006 | 32% | 1% | 1% | 28% | 1% | 1% |
| Public Opinion Strategies | August 1–2, 2006 | 31% | — | — | 25% | 4% | 6% |
| Gonzales Research | August 30, 2006 | 43% | — | — | 30% | 6% | — |
| SurveyUSA | August 31, 2006 | 38% | — | — | 42% | 7% | — |
| SurveyUSA | September 11, 2006 | 47% | — | — | 38% | 7% | — |

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 589,695 | 100 |

## 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

Republican primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 219,403 | 100 |

## 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

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Lean D | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics | Tossup | November 6, 2006 |

### Polling

| Source | Date | Ben Cardin (D) | Michael Steele (R) | Kevin Zeese (G) |
| The Baltimore Sun | April 2005 | 41% | 37% |
| The Baltimore Sun | October 25, 2005 | 47% | 38% |
| Potomac Survey Research | November 1, 2005 | 41% | 32% |
| Rasmussen | November 21, 2005 | 49% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | January 13, 2006 | 40% | 45% |
| Zogby | January 20, 2006 | 49% | 43% |
| Rasmussen | February 22, 2006 | 49% | 35% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | March 31, 2006 | 49% | 39% |
| Gonzales Research | April 18, 2006 | 49% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | April 25, 2006 | 45% | 35% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | June 21, 2006 | 51% | 40% |
| The Washington Post | June 25, 2006 | 49% | 39% |
| The Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. | July 6–10, 2006 | 47% | 36% |
| Rasmussen | July 17, 2006 | 47% | 41% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | July 24, 2006 | 50% | 42% |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R) | August 1–2, 2006 | 43% | 35% |
| Rasmussen | August 18, 2006 | 47% | 42% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | August 28, 2006 | 50% | 41% |
| Gonzales Research | August 30, 2006 | 44% | 39% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | September 10, 2006 | 49% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | September 19, 2006 | 50% | 43% |
| SurveyUSA | September 20, 2006 | 47% | 48% | 4% |
| The Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. | September 25, 2006 | 51% | 40% |
| VC Research (R) | September 27–28, 2006 | 44% | 39% |
| Zogby/The Wall Street Journal | September 28, 2006 | 52% | 39% |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC | October 2, 2006 | 47% | 41% | 1% |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R) | October 2–4, 2006 | 47% | 43% |
| Reuters/Zogby | October 5, 2006 | 45% | 37% |
| USA Today/Gallup | October 6, 2006 | 54% | 39% |
| Rasmussen | October 16, 2006 | 53% | 44% |
| SurveyUSA | October 18, 2006 | 46% | 46% | 3% |
| VC Research (R) | October 22–23, 2006 | 41% | 39% |
| Garin Hart Yang (D) | October 23–24, 2006 | 52% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | October 26, 2006 | 49% | 42% |
| The Washington Post | October 29, 2006 | 54% | 43% | 1% |
| Reuters/Zogby | November 2, 2006 | 49% | 44% |
| The Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. | November 2, 2006 | 49% | 43% | 2% |
| SurveyUSA | November 3, 2006 | 47% | 47% |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC | November 5, 2006 | 47% | 44% | 1% |
| SurveyUSA | November 6, 2006 | 49% | 46% | 3% |

### 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 2025, 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.
Maryland United States Senate election results, 2006 :
| Party | 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 | Write-in | 916 | 0.05 | 0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 178,295 | 100.00 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,781,139 | | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |

#### Results by county

| County | Ben Cardin Democratic | Ben Cardin Democratic | Michael Steele Republican | Michael Steele Republican | Kevin Zeese Green | Kevin Zeese Green | Write-Ins Independent | Write-Ins Independent | Margin | Margin | Total Votes Cast |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | 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 |

##### 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)