2006 United States Senate election in Maryland
November 7, 2006
 
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

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.

As of 2023, this remains the best performance by a Republican senate candidate in Maryland.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

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.[4][5] 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.[6] 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

Polling

Source Date Ben
Cardin		 A. Robert
Kaufman		 Allan
Lichtman		 Kweisi
Mfume		 Josh
Rales		 Dennis F.
Rasmussen
Washington Post June 25, 2006 26% 2% 4% 33% 0% 4%
Baltimore Sun Archived August 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine 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 by county:
Map legend
  •   Cardin—50–60%
  •   Cardin—40–50%
  •   Cardin—30–40%
  •   Mfume—60–70%
  •   Mfume—40–50%

Results

Democratic primary results[7]
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 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".[8] Among a field of nine other candidates, the only Republican receiving sufficient media coverage was Daniel Vovak.

Results

Republican primary results[7]
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 219,403 100

General election

Candidates

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 reelected 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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

Cardin primarily attacked Steele over his close relations with President Bush, including pictures of Bush and Steele in Cardin's TV ads.[15] Steele focused on low taxes, less government spending, free markets and national security.[16]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[17] Tossup November 6, 2006
Sabato's Crystal Ball[18] Lean D November 6, 2006
Rothenberg Political Report[19] Lean D November 6, 2006
Real Clear Politics[20] Tossup November 6, 2006

Polling

Source Date Ben
Cardin (D)		 Michael
Steele (R)		 Kevin
Zeese (G)
Baltimore Sun April 2005 41% 37%
Baltimore Sun October 25, 2005 47% 38%
Potomac Survey Research November 1, 2005 41% 32%
Rasmussen Archived November 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine November 21, 2005 49% 41%
Rasmussen January 13, 2006 40% 45%
Zogby January 20, 2006 49% 43%
Rasmussen February 22, 2006 49% 35%
Zogby/Wall Street Journal March 31, 2006 49% 39%
Gonzales Research Archived April 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine April 18, 2006 49% 35%
Rasmussen April 25, 2006 45% 35%
Zogby/Wall Street Journal June 21, 2006 51% 40%
Washington Post June 25, 2006 49% 39%
Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. Archived August 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine July 6–10, 2006 47% 36%
Rasmussen July 17, 2006 47% 41%
Zogby/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/Wall Street Journal August 28, 2006 50% 41%
Gonzales Research August 30, 2006 44% 39%
Zogby/Wall Street Journal September 10, 2006 49% 40%
Rasmussen September 19, 2006 50% 43%
SurveyUSA September 20, 2006 47% 48% 4%
Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. September 25, 2006 51% 40%
VC Research (R) September 27–28, 2006 44% 39%
Zogby/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%
Washington Post October 29, 2006 54% 43% 1%
Reuters/Zogby November 2, 2006 49% 44%
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 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. Steele conceded defeat at 9:02 PM EST. On the same day, incumbent Republican governor Bob Ehrlich lost reelection to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.

Maryland United States Senate election results, 2006[21]
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 916 0.05 0
Majority 178,295 100.00
Turnout 1,781,139
Democratic hold Swing

Results by county

County Ben Cardin

Democratic

 Michael Steele

Republican

 Kevin Zeese

Green

 Write-Ins

Independent

 Margin 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 Democrat to Republican

See also

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. 1 2 Maryland State Board of Elections. "Official 2006 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for U.S. Senator". elections.state.md.us. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Maryland: Politics – Senate candidates get national airing". The Baltimore Sun. August 26, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ John Wagner, Zeese Wins the Triple Crown, The Washington Post, June 13, 2006.
  11. ↑ "Zeese, Steele, Cardin Debate". Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  12. ↑ Mosk, Matthew; Marimow, Ann E. (October 26, 2006). "Cardin, Steele Square Off in Televised Debate". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  13. ↑ Mosk, Matthew; Marimow, Ann E. (October 30, 2006). "Debate Puts Steele on Defense". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Final Debate For Maryland U.S. Senate Race". Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ↑ Steele, Michael (February 8, 2008). "Michael Steele : Now Is the Time to Act". Townhall.com. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  19. ↑ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  21. ↑ "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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