2012 United States Senate election in Maryland

The 2012 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election,other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Dan Bongino and independent Rob Sobhani.

Democratic primary Candidates Declared Raymond Blagmon Ben Cardin, incumbent U.S. senator J.P. Cusick Christopher Garner, engineer and businessman Ralph Jaffe, former political science teacher C. Anthony Muse, state senator Blaine Taylor Ed Tinus Lih Young, perennial candidate

Results

Republican primary Candidates Declared Joseph Alexander Dan Bongino, former United States Secret Service agent Bro Broadus William Capps Richard Douglas, attorney and former deputy assistant secretary of defense Rick Hoover David Jones John B. Kimble, behavioral scientist and perennial candidate Brian Vaeth, retired firefighter Corrogan R. Vaughn, perennial candidate

Declined Bob Ehrlich, former governor of Maryland and nominee for governor in 2010 Brian Murphy, candidate for governor in 2010 Eric Wargotz, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010

Results

General election

Candidates Dean Ahmad (Libertarian), president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute Brandy Baker (Socialist, certified write-in) Daniel Bongino (Republican), former United States Secret Service agent Ben Cardin (Democratic), incumbent U.S. senator and former U.S. representative S. Rob Sobhani (independent), chairman and CEO of Caspian Group Holdings

Debates A candidates' forum was held on Baltimore's WOLB radio on October 24, including Senator Ben Cardin, Rob Sobhani, Dean Ahmad and Daniel Bongino.

An October 30 debate at Salisbury University would have featured those candidates and independent Ed Tinus, but was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Campaign In 2006, then-U.S. Representative Ben Cardin defeated then-Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele 54%–44%. Eric Wargotz, the Republican nominee in 2010, had considered entering the race but ultimately did not.

In both 2009 and 2010, National Journal magazine rated Cardin as tied for most liberal senator, based on his voting record. As of June 30, Cardin had $1.8 million in his campaign account.

Fundraising

Candidate (party) Receipts Disbursements Cash on hand Debt Ben Cardin (D) $3,758,957 $2,248,013 $1,896,329 $0 Daniel Bongino (R) $188,419 $172,509 $15,909 $0 Dean Ahmad (L) $8,565 $6,288 $2,276 $0 S. Rob Sobhani (I) $6,472,715 $6,043,030 $429,683 $0 Source: Federal Election CommissionBen CardinDaniel Bongino Campaign FinancesS. Rob Sobhani Campaign Finances

Top contributors

Ben Cardin Daniel Bongino Exelon Corp $39,250 NORPAC $21,730 News Corp $35,375 Avjet Corp $5,000 Johns Hopkins University $30,300 Citizens United $5,000 Comcast Corp $26,123 Oheka Castle $5,000 Ernst & Young $26,000 Miller & Long Concrete Construction $4,891 Gallagher, Evelius & Jones $24,250 Perinatal Center of Oklahoma $4,790 Venable LLP $23,750 NYPD $3,950 DLA Piper $23,250 Fitzgerald Shamrock Restaurant $3,947 DaVita Inc. $22,000 Davidsonville Veterinary Clinic $3,250 Blue Cross & Blue Shield $20,750 Constitutional Conservatives Fund $2,500

Top industries

Ben Cardin Daniel Bongino Lawyers/law firms $441,242 Retired $20,152 Real estate $354,920 General contractors $8,641 Health professionals $317,509 Civil servants/public officials $8,135 Financial institutions $301,161 Health professionals $6,540 Pro-Israel $236,792 Real estate $5,700 Retired $222,410 Republican/Conservative $5,500 Lobbyists $213,559 Lodging/tourism $5,000 Insurance $191,300 Computers/Internet $4,110 Leadership PACs $191,000 Food industry & beverage $3,947 Entertainment industry $188,806 Financial institutions $3,800

Predictions Source Ranking As of The Cook Political Report November 1, 2012 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2012 Rothenberg Political Report November 2, 2012 Real Clear Politics November 5, 2012

Polling Poll source BenCardin (D) DanielBongino (R) RobSobhani (I) Other UndecidedGonzales Research & Marketing StrategiesGonzales Research & Marketing Strategies September 17–23, 2012 813 ±3.5% 50% 22% 21% — 7%The Washington PostThe Washington Post October 11–15, 2012 843 ±4% 53% 22% 14% 2% 9%OpinionWorksOpinionWorks October 20–23, 2012 801 ±3.5% 50% 24% 14% 2% 10%

Poll source BenCardin (D) GenericRepublican Other UndecidedPublic Policy PollingPublic Policy Polling July 10–12, 2010 569 ±4.1% 51% 33% — 16%

Poll source BenCardin (D) MichaelSteele (R) Other UndecidedPublic Policy Polling July 10–12, 2010 569 ±4.1% 58% 28% — 14%

Results

By county +CountyBen Cardin DemocraticDan Bongino RepublicanRob Sobhani IndependentDean Ahmad LibertarianOther OtherMarginTotal votes

cast#%#%#%#%#%#% Allegany 9507 33.38% 14667 51.50% 3920 14.60% 367 1.29% 18 0.06% -5160 -18.12% 28479 Anne Arundel 108328 42.62% 93804 36.90% 48503 19.08% 3320 1.31% 241 0.09% 14524 5.71% 254196 Baltimore 198290 52.55% 95297 25.25% 78887 20.91% 4434 1.18% 439 0.12% 102993 27.29% 377347 Baltimore City 189128 77.21% 16931 6.91% 35724 14.58% 2930 1.20% 232 0.09% 172197 62.63% 244945 Calvert 17296 39.36% 17272 39.31% 8806 20.04% 523 1.19% 43 0.10% 24 0.05% 43940 Caroline 4423 33.93% 5898 45.24% 2575 19.75% 122 0.94% 18 0.14% -1475 -11.31% 13036 Carroll 22837 26.69% 41795 48.86% 19733 23.07% 1118 1.31% 66 0.08% -18958 -22.16% 85549 Cecil 14994 36.41% 18452 44.81% 7137 17.33% 549 1.33% 47 0.11% -3458 -8.40% 41179 Charles 42638 58.24% 16752 22.88% 13036 17.81% 721 0.98% 58 0.08% 25886 35.36% 73205 Dorchester 6552 44.29% 5526 37.36% 2567 17.35% 132 0.89% 16 0.11% 1026 6.94% 14793 Frederick 45161 39.80% 48563 42.80% 17913 15.79% 1720 1.52% 112 0.10% -3402 -3.00% 113469 Garrett 3448 27.87% 8263 66.79% 492 3.98% 163 1.32% 6 0.05% -4815 -38.92% 12372 Harford 43274 35.04% 45404 36.77% 33148 26.84% 1535 1.24% 126 0.10% -2130 -1.72% 123487 Howard 80265 53.66% 42892 28.67% 23815 15.92% 2462 1.65% 148 0.10% 37373 24.98% 149582 Kent 4312 44.45% 3608 37.20% 1660 17.11% 88 0.91% 32 0.33% 704 7.26% 9700 Montgomery 293715 66.21% 94010 21.19% 49611 11.18% 5790 1.31% 455 0.10% 199705 45.02% 443581 Prince George's 305771 81.40% 25080 6.68% 40937 10.90% 3521 0.94% 339 0.09% 280691 70.50% 375648 Queen Anne's 7385 30.13% 12540 51.15% 4344 17.72% 217 0.89% 28 0.11% -5155 -21.03% 24514 St. Mary's 17566 38.29% 19480 42.46% 8065 17.58% 723 1.58% 42 0.09% -1914 -4.17% 45876 Somerset 4686 46.70% 3568 35.56% 1682 16.76% 86 0.86% 13 0.13% 1118 11.14% 10035 Talbot 8100 40.46% 8986 44.89% 2729 13.63% 173 0.86% 32 0.16% -886 -4.43% 20020 Washington 19702 32.56% 28161 46.53% 11788 19.48% 824 1.36% 41 0.07% -8459 -13.98% 60516 Wicomico 16974 41.41% 15072 36.77% 8426 20.56% 452 1.10% 63 0.15% 1902 4.64% 40987 Worcester 9676 36.21% 11270 42.18% 5436 20.34% 282 1.06% 56 0.21% -1594 -5.97% 26720 Total 1474028 55.98% 693291 26.33% 430934 16.37% 32252 1.22% 2729 0.10% 780737 28.90% 2633234 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Anne Arundel (largest municipality: Annapolis) Calvert (largest municipality: Chesapeake Beach) Dorchester (largest municipality: Cambridge) Kent (largest municipality: Chestertown) Somerset (largest municipality: Princess Anne) Wicomico (largest municipality: Salisbury)

See also 2012 United States Senate elections 2012 United States elections

References

Notes

External links Maryland State Board of Elections Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation Candidate issue positions at On the Issues United States Senate elections in Maryland, 2012 at Ballotpedia

Daniel Bongino Daniel Bongino for U.S. Senate

Ben Cardin Ben Cardin for U.S. Senate

Rob Sobhani Rob Sobhani for U.S. Senate