2010 United States Senate election in Maryland

The 2010 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on September 14, 2010. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski won re-election to a fifth term.

According to The Baltimore Sun columnist David Nitkin, Mikulski had indicated she planned to seek re-election to a fifth term. If Mikulski were to win re-election and serve the full term, she would tie Paul Sarbanes as the longest-serving senator in state history, and also becoming the longest-serving female senator in history, turning 80 years old in the process. On February 15, 2010, rumors began to circulate that Mikulski would not seek reelection; however, these were denied by Democratic sources soon after.

She previously won senate elections in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004 by margins of 21, 42, 41 and 31 percentage points, respectively. Additionally, in the general election, state parties were expected to focus much of their attention on the seats of Governor Martin O'Malley and first-term Congressman Frank Kratovil, the latter of whom won a surprise victory in a conservative district of the state. Nitkin and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball considered her seat as overwhelmingly "safe."

Democratic primary

Republican primary Nominee Eric Wargotz, Queen Anne's County Commission President

Eliminated in primary Joseph Alexander Barry Steve Asbury, newspaper publisher Neil Cohen, dentist Stephens Dempsey Samuel R. Graham Sr. John B. Kimble, perennial candidate Gregory Kump Daniel W. McAndrew Jim Rutledge, attorney Eddie Vendetti, engineer

Results

General election

Candidates Major Barbara Mikulski (D), incumbent U.S. Senator Eric Wargotz (R), Queen Anne's County, Maryland Commission President (elected) and physician

Minor Don Kaplan (Independent) Richard Shawver (Constitution) Kenniss Henry (Green) Natasha Pettigrew (deceased) was the Green Party candidate. On September 19, while cycling, Pettigrew was hit by an SUV driver. Her mother, Kenniss Henry, was chosen by the Green Party to replace Pettigrew on the ballot.Natasha Pettigrew – Mother to replace Green Party nominee for Senate – Baltimore Sun

Campaign Wargotz released two television ads, in the first he created and introduced the term "insidersaurus": comparing Mikulski to a dinosaur by calling her a political "insidersaurus" being in Washington for over thirty years (a long-term political incumbent.) A second ad showed a hammer hitting a brick wall, breaking it down and citing criticisms of Mikulski's record as a U.S. Senator. Mikulski released advertisements emphasizing education and job creation.

Despite Wargotz's limited campaign and resources he received the highest percentage of votes against Mikulski as an incumbent U.S. Senator (over 20 years.)

Debates Despite repeated requests by the Wargotz Campaign formal debate was declined by the incumbent U.S. Senator Mikulski. The two candidates did appear together on Maryland Public Television (MPT) fielding common questions posed to both by the moderator but no formal debate was held.

Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 26, 2010 Rothenberg October 22, 2010 RealClearPolitics October 26, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 21, 2010 CQ Politics October 26, 2010

Polling Poll source BarbaraMikulski (D) EricWargotz (R) Other Undecided Rasmussen Reports (report) July 8, 2010 500 ± 4.5% 58% 33% 2% 7% Public Policy Polling (report) July 10–12, 2010 569 ± 4.1% 59% 27% –– 14% Rasmussen Reports (report) August 20, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 55% 39% 3% 3% Rasmussen Reports (report) September 15, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 54% 38% 4% 4% Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. () October 11–16, 2010 816 ± 3.5% 55% 38% –– 7% Baltimore Sun/OpinionWorks (report) October 15–20, 2010 798 ± 3.5% 59% 32% –– 8% Rasmussen Reports (report) October 24, 2010 750 ± 4.0% 56% 38% 2% 4%

Fundraising Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt Cash minus debt Barbara Mikulski (D) $3,690,724 $2,792,437 $1,772,774 $0 $1,772,774 Eric Wargotz (R) $1,210,327 $743,392 $466,931 $459,600 $-7331. Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

By county +CountyBarbara A. Mikulski DemocraticEric Wargotz RepublicanKennis Henry GreenRichard Shawver ConstitutionOther OtherMarginTotal Votes

Cast#%#%#%#%#%#% Allegany 9639 44.60% 11350 52.52% 288 1.33% 319 1.48% 16 0.07% -1711 -7.92% 21612 Anne Arundel 102511 51.17% 92994 46.42% 2766 1.38% 1868 0.93% 214 0.11% 9517 4.75% 200353 Baltimore (City) 138312 86.59% 18336 11.48% 2094 1.31% 831 0.52% 167 0.10% 119976 75.11% 159740 Baltimore (County) 165678 58.27% 112670 39.62% 3426 1.20% 2233 0.79% 343 0.12% 53008 18.64% 284350 Calvert 15247 48.44% 15569 49.46% 364 1.16% 275 0.87% 21 0.07% -322 -1.02% 31476 Caroline 4508 45.46% 5142 51.86% 120 1.21% 127 1.28% 19 0.19% -634 -6.39% 9916 Carroll 21632 34.38% 39312 62.48% 834 1.33% 1040 1.65% 101 0.16% -17680 -28.10% 62919 Cecil 13132 44.22% 15600 52.53% 443 1.49% 485 1.63% 40 0.13% -2468 -8.31% 29700 Charles 30106 64.88% 15598 33.62% 348 0.75% 321 0.69% 28 0.06% 14508 31.27% 46401 Dorchester 6481 55.96% 4910 42.39% 99 0.85% 87 0.75% 5 0.04% 1571 13.56% 11582 Frederick 34913 46.67% 38013 50.81% 876 1.17% 905 1.21% 107 0.14% -3100 -4.14% 74814 Garrett 3361 35.76% 5750 61.17% 117 1.24% 164 1.74% 8 0.09% -2389 -25.41% 9400 Harford 40712 43.50% 50513 53.98% 1082 1.16% 1171 1.25% 106 0.11% -9801 -10.47% 93584 Howard 63738 59.71% 40853 38.27% 1239 1.16% 794 0.74% 125 0.12% 22885 21.44% 106749 Kent 4549 56.04% 3405 41.95% 81 1.00% 74 0.91% 8 0.10% 1144 14.09% 8117 Montgomery 204005 70.67% 79582 27.57% 3353 1.16% 1393 0.48% 351 0.12% 124423 43.10% 288684 Prince George's 204441 89.11% 22607 9.85% 1472 0.64% 752 0.33% 164 0.07% 181834 79.25% 229436 Queen Anne's 8575 43.64% 10561 53.75% 195 0.99% 284 1.45% 35 0.18% -1986 -10.11% 19650 St. Mary's 14669 46.86% 15911 50.83% 320 1.02% 377 1.20% 26 0.08% -1242 -3.97% 31303 Somerset 4082 53.98% 3363 44.47% 48 0.63% 67 0.89% 2 0.03% 719 9.51% 7562 Talbot 7968 49.28% 7946 49.15% 147 0.91% 95 0.59% 12 0.07% 22 0.14% 16168 Washington 17356 43.71% 20873 52.57% 579 1.46% 653 1.64% 247 0.62% -3517 -8.86% 39708 Wicomico 14668 49.88% 14189 48.25% 243 0.83% 278 0.95% 30 0.10% 479 1.63% 29408 Worcester 10248 48.28% 10619 50.03% 183 0.86% 153 0.72% 23 0.11% -371 -1.75% 21226 Total 1140531 62.19% 655666 35.75% 20717 1.13% 14746 0.80% 2198 0.12% 484865 26.44% 1833858

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Allegany (largest municipality: Cumberland) Calvert (largest municipality: Chesapeake Beach) Caroline (largest municipality: Denton) Frederick (largest municipality: Frederick) St. Mary's (largest municipality: California) Worcester (largest municipality: Ocean Pines)

See also 2010 United States Senate elections 2010 United States elections

References

External links Maryland State Board of Elections U.S. Congress candidates for Maryland at Project Vote Smart Maryland U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com Campaign contributions from Open Secrets 2010 Maryland Polls graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Election 2010: Maryland Senate from Rasmussen Reports Maryland Senate from Real Clear Politics from CQ Politics Race profile from The New York Times Candidate blogs at The Baltimore Sun Official campaign sites Barbara Mikulski for U.S. Senate incumbent Daniel W. McAndrew for U.S. Senate Jim Rutledge for U.S. Senate Vaughn for U.S. Senate Wargotz for U.S. Senate Neil Cohen for U.S. Senate