The 2012 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator

Ben Cardin Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representat ...

won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee

Dan Bongino Daniel John Bongino (born December 4, 1974) is an American conservative political commentator, radio show host, and author. He served as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer from 1995 to 1999 and as a Secret Service agent from 1999 ...

and independent Rob Sobhani.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Raymond Blagmon *

, 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

Maryland Senate Democratic primary, 2012

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Joseph Alexander *

, former

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

agent * Bro Broadus * William Capps * Richard Douglas, attorney and former

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of Defen ...

* Rick Hoover * David Jones * John B. Kimble, behavioral scientist and perennial candidate * Brian Vaeth, retired firefighter * Corrogan R. Vaughn, perennial candidate

Declined

Bob Ehrlich Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House o ...

, former

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

* Brian Murphy, candidate for Governor in 2010 * Eric Wargotz, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010

Results

General election

Candidates

(Democratic), Incumbent U.S. Senator and former U.S. Representative * Daniel Bongino (Republican), former

agent *

Dean Ahmad Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad (also known as Dean Ahmad) (born August 11, 1948) is a Palestinian American scholar and the president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, a libertarian 501(c)(3) tax-exempt think-tank. He also is president of the Islamic-Amer ...

(Libertarian), President of the

Minaret of Freedom Institute The Minaret of Freedom Institute is an Islamic libertarian organization established in 1993 and based in Bethesda, Maryland. It is dedicated to educating both Muslims and non-Muslims.

S. Rob Sobhani Sohrab Sobhani (born February 15, 1960) is an Iranian-American author and lecturer on energy issues, U.S. immigration policies and U.S. policy toward the Middle East. Formerly a professor at Georgetown University, Sobhani is currently the chairma ...

(Independent), Chairman and CEO of Caspian Group Holdings * Brandy Baker (Socialist, certified write-in)

Debates

A candidate's forum was held on Baltimore's

WOLB WOLB (1010 AM) is an urban talk radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by Urban One and broadcasts from studios in Woodlawn and a transmitter in the Orangewood section of east Baltimore. History WSID WSID launched at 1570 ...

radio on October 24 including Senator Ben Cardin, Rob Sobhani, Dean Ahmad and Daniel Bongino. An October 30 debate at

Salisbury University Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland. Founded in 1925, Salisbury is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2016 enrollment of 8,748. Salisbury University offers 42 distinct undergraduate and 14 ...

to have featured those candidates and independent Ed Tinus was cancelled in the aftermath of

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

Campaign

In 2006, then-U.S. Representative

defeated then-Lieutenant Governor

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

54%–44%. Eric Wargotz, the Republican nominee in 2010 had considered entering the race but ultimately did not. In both 2010 and 2009, 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

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

External links

Maryland State Board of Elections

Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

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
{{US Third Party Election

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Senate

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Campaign

Fundraising

Top contributors

Top industries

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

References

External links