2018 United States Senate election in Maryland explained

The 2018 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maryland. It was held concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin was re-elected to a third and ultimately final term by a landslide margin of almost 35 points, the largest margin in any election for this seat since Maryland began holding direct elections for Senate in 1913.

The primary election for the Senate race was held on June 26, 2018.^[1] The incumbent, Ben Cardin, won the Democratic Party primary. In the general election, Cardin was reelected to a third term.^[2] Tony Campbell, a professor of political science at Towson University and former Army Chaplain, won the Republican Party primary. If elected, Campbell would have become Maryland's first African-American U.S. Senator.^{[3] [4]} Businessman Neal Simon ran as an independent and Arvin Vohra was the Libertarian Party nominee in the general election. There were also several official write-in candidates. With Republican governor Larry Logan winning re-election in the same year, this was the first election since 1974 in which Maryland simultaneously voted for a gubernatorial nominee and a U.S. Senate nominee of opposite parties.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Ben Cardin, incumbent U.S. Senator^{[5] [6]}
• Erik Jetmir
• Chelsea Manning, whistleblower, convicted of Espionage Act crimes, former U.S. Army soldier^{[7] [8]}
• Marcia H. Morgan,^[5] of Montgomery County^[9]
• Jerome Segal, political activist and philosopher^[6]
• Richard "Rikki" Vaughn,^[6] of Baltimore^[10]
• Debbie "Rica" Wilson, candidate for MD-05 in 2016,^[5] of White Plains
• Lih Young, perennial candidate,^[5] of Montgomery County

Declined

• John Delaney, U.S. Representative (running for President in 2020)^[11]
• Donna Edwards, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016 (running for Prince George's County Executive)^[12]
• Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative^[13]
• Heather Mizeur, former state delegate^[13]
• John Sarbanes, U.S. Representative^[13]

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Tony Campbell,^[5] of Baltimore County, political science faculty member at Towson University^[15]
• Chris Chaffee,^[5] candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016^[16]
• Evan M. Cronhardt,^[5] of Anne Arundel County
• Nnabu Eze, of Baltimore County, Green nominee for MD-03 in 2016^[17]
• John Graziani, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016 and candidate for MD-04 in 2014^[5]
• Christina J. Grigorian, attorney^[5]
• Albert Howard^[5]
• Bill Krehnbrink, perennial candidate^[5]
• Gerald I. Smith, Jr., conspiracy theorist,^[5] of Cecil County
• Blaine Taylor, perennial candidate,^[5] of Baltimore County
• Brian Charles Vaeth, perennial candidate^[5]

Withdrew

• Sam Faddis, former CIA officer and candidate for MD-05 in 2016^{[18] [19]}

Declined

• Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland since 2015 (running for reelection)

Results

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Declared

• Arvin Vohra, vice-chair of the Libertarian National Committee and perennial candidate,^[20] of Montgomery County

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Michael B Puskar, property manager
• Edward Shlikas, home care compliance manager^[21]
• Neal Simon, businessman^{[22] [23]}

General election

Candidates

• Ben Cardin, Incumbent (D)
• Tony Campbell, Professor at Towson University (R)
• Arvin Vohra, vice-chair of the Libertarian National Committee (L)
• Neal Simon, businessman (I)
• Michael B Puskar, property manager (I)

Debates

On October 7, 2018, Cardin, independent candidate Neal Simon, and Republican candidate Tony Campbell participated in the sole televised debate of the campaign.^{[24] [25] [26]}

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[27]		October 26, 2018
Inside Elections[28]		November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[29]		November 5, 2018
Fox News[30]		July 9, 2018
CNN[31]		July 12, 2018
RealClearPolitics[32]		June 2018

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ben Cardin (D)	Tony Campbell (R)	Neal Simon (I)	Other	Undecided
Gonzales Research (I-Simon)[33]	October 1–6, 2018	806	± 3.5%	align=center	49%	22%	18%	–	11%
Goucher College[34]	September 11–16, 2018	472	± 4.5%	align=center	56%	17%	8%	1%[35]	14%

Results

By county

County! colspan="2"

Ben CardinDemocratic	Tony CampbellRepublican		Neal SimonIndependent		Arvin VohraLibertarian		Write-insIndependent		Margin		TotalVotes Cast
			%				%					%				%				%		%
	Allegany	8597	36.82%	13790	59.06%	746	3.19%	196	0.84%	20	0.09%	-5193	-22.24%	23349
	Anne Arundel	122910	53.74%	92401	40.40%	10528	4.60%	2674	1.17%	190	0.08%	30509	13.34%	228703
	Baltimore (City)	160370	86.95%	16184	8.77%	5596	3.03%	1917	1.04%	375	0.20%	144186	78.17%	184442
	Baltimore (County)	197530	60.85%	106275	32.74%	17192	5.30%	3313	1.02%	290	0.09%	91255	28.11%	324600
	Calvert	17372	44.51%	19901	50.99%	1273	3.26%	458	1.17%	27	0.07%	-2529	-6.48%	39031
	Caroline	4265	37.73%	6474	57.27%	451	3.99%	105	0.93%	9	0.08%	-2209	-19.54%	11304
	Carroll	25986	34.89%	42479	57.03%	5020	6.74%	966	1.30%	38	0.05%	-16493	-22.14%	74489
	Cecil	13237	38.05%	19851	57.06%	1267	3.64%	412	1.18%	24	0.07%	-6614	-19.01%	34791
	Charles	44874	69.54%	17872	27.69%	1284	1.99%	462	0.72%	41	0.06%	27002	41.84%	64533
	Dorchester	5928	48.23%	5864	47.71%	397	3.23%	95	0.77%	8	0.07%	64	0.52%	12292
	Frederick	55256	51.67%	47038	43.99%	3242	3.03%	1292	1.21%	105	0.10%	8218	7.69%	106933
	Garrett	2817	25.75%	7801	71.31%	216	1.97%	98	0.90%	7	0.06%	-4984	-45.56%	10939
	Harford	45921	41.63%	56749	51.45%	6185	5.61%	1352	1.23%	100	0.09%	-10828	-9.82%	110307
	Howard	96067	66.97%	38797	27.05%	6621	4.62%	1819	1.27%	144	0.10%	57270	39.92%	143448
	Kent	4588	53.49%	3490	40.69%	411	4.79%	86	1.00%	3	0.03%	1098	12.80%	8578
	Montgomery	314568	77.29%	74924	18.41%	13333	3.28%	3655	0.90%	517	0.13%	239644	58.88%	406997
	Prince George's	286975	90.10%	24140	7.58%	5031	1.58%	2031	0.64%	346	0.11%	262835	82.52%	318523
	Queen Anne's	8463	37.21%	12813	56.34%	1230	5.41%	232	1.02%	6	0.03%	-4350	-19.13%	22744
	St. Mary's	16849	41.93%	21393	53.24%	1361	3.39%	559	1.39%	18	0.04%	-4544	-11.31%	40180
	Somerset	3652	47.09%	3882	50.06%	172	2.22%	45	0.58%	4	0.05%	-230	-2.97%	7755
	Talbot	9054	50.12%	8050	44.56%	796	4.41%	154	0.85%	12	0.07%	1004	5.56%	18066
	Washington	19956	39.59%	28319	56.18%	1598	3.17%	507	1.01%	26	0.05%	-8363	-16.59%	50406
	Wicomico	16539	49.09%	15644	46.43%	1133	3.36%	351	1.04%	24	0.07%	895	2.66%	33691
	Worcester	9840	41.37%	12886	54.17%	881	3.70%	164	0.69%	17	0.07%	-3046	-12.80%	23788
Total	1491614	64.86%	697017	30.31%	85964	3.74%	22943	1.00%	2351	0.10%	794597	34.55%	2299889

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Frederick (largest municipality: Frederick)
• Talbot (largest municipality: Easton)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Calvert (largest municipality: Chesapeake Beach)
• Somerset (largest municipality: Princess Anne)

^{[36] [37]}

By congressional district

Cardin won 7 of 8 congressional districts.^[38]

District	Cardin	Campbell	Elected Representative
		40%	54%		Andy Harris
		65%	30%		Dutch Ruppersberger
		67%	27%		John Sarbanes
		79%	18%		Anthony Brown
		68%	29%		Steny Hoyer
		60%	35%		David Trone
		75%	20%		Elijah Cummings
		67%	28%		Jamie Raskin

See also

• 2018 United States Senate elections
• 2018 United States elections

External links

• • • • Candidates at Vote Smart Candidates at Ballotpedia Campaign finance at FEC Campaign finance at OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites

• Tony Campbell (R) for U.S. Senate
• Ben Cardin (D) for U.S. Senate
• Neal Simon (I) for U.S. Senate
• Arvin Vohra (L) for U.S. Senate
• Michael B. Puskar (I) for U.S. Senate

Notes and References

1. Web site: United States Senate election in Maryland, 2018 . . Ballotpedia . https://web.archive.org/web/20180502233832/https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Maryland,_2018 . May 2, 2018 . June 15, 2018.
2. News: Maryland Primary Election Results. The New York Times. June 28, 2018. October 18, 2018.
3. News: Dresser, Michael. U.S. Senate challengers fault Cardin in debate for not solving problems. The Baltimore Sun. October 7, 2018. October 17, 2018. October 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181012045137/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-senate-debate-20181005-story.html. dead.
4. Web site: Hall, Tom . Sivak, Rob . Tony Campbell: Republican for US Senate. WYPR. October 15, 2018. October 17, 2018.
5. Web site: 2018 Candidate Listing . . June 15, 2018 . 2018 Gubernatorial Election . Maryland Board of Elections . June 15, 2018.
6. Web site: Candidates (criteria: 2018+Senate+Maryland) . . Campaign finance data . Federal Election Commission . June 15, 2018.
7. News: Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland. Jouvenal. Justin. January 13, 2018. The Washington Post. June 17, 2018. Portnoy. Jenna. Katherine Shaver contributed..
8. News: Chelsea Manning officially files for US Senate race. January 18, 2018. The Seattle Times. June 17, 2018. Associated Press.
9. News: Candidate filing last call Feb. 27 (Pt. 2: Filing). Divilio. Daniel. February 22, 2018. Kent County News. June 27, 2018. Chestertown, Maryland. A15. Newspapers.com (Publisher Extra).
10. News: Somebody's already using the 'E' word. . June 28, 2017. The Enterprise. June 27, 2018. Community. St. Mary's County, Maryland. A8. Newspapers.com (Publisher Extra).
11. News: John Delaney: Why I'm Running for President. Delaney. John. . July 28, 2017.
12. News: Former Maryland congresswoman Donna Edwards to run for county executive. Siegel. Rachel. 2017-10-05. The Washington Post. 2017-12-14. Wiggins. Ovetta. en-US. 0190-8286.
13. Web site: 2018: Whither Ben Cardin?. Shurberg. Jonathan. June 7, 2016. Maryland Scramble.
14. http://www.goucher.edu/hughes-center/documents/SP18_Thursday_RELEASE_FINAL.pdf Goucher College
15. Web site: Faculty . . October 31, 2016 . Faculty Resources . Towson University . Political Science . June 15, 2018.
16. Web site: 2016 Candidate Listing . . April 26, 2016 . Maryland State Board of Elections . June 15, 2018.
17. Web site: 2016 Candidate Listing . . April 26, 2016 . Maryland State Board of Elections . June 15, 2018.
18. Web site: Former CIA Officer Sam Faddis running for Senate in Maryland. SOFREP. Murphy. Jack. May 31, 2017. July 17, 2017.
19. Web site: Ben Cardin raises nearly $1M for 2018 reelection. The Baltimore Sun. Fritze. John. July 14, 2017. July 17, 2017.
20. Web site: Arvin Vohra, Vice Chairman of Libertarian Party, Announces Run for U S Senate. July 4, 2017. Pyeatt, Jill. Independent Political Report. January 13, 2018.
21. Web site: Shlikas will fix it! . Shlikas for Senate . December 20, 2017.
22. Web site: Sen. Ben Cardin may get independent challenger backed by Centrist Project. 6 December 2017.
23. Web site: An independent candidate for Senate in Maryland says 'it's about change,' as the incumbent files for re-election. The Baltimore Sun. John. Fritze. February 6, 2018. February 11, 2018. October 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181020092653/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-neal-simon-ben-cardin-20180205-story.html. dead.
24. News: Cardin defends record in first Maryland debate for U.S. Senate. The Washington Post. en. 2018-10-08.
25. News: U.S. Senate challengers fault Cardin in debate for not solving problems. Dresser. Michael. baltimoresun.com. 2018-10-08. en-US. October 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181009013408/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-senate-debate-20181005-story.html. dead.
26. Web site: Maryland Senate Debate, Oct 7 2018 - Video - C-SPAN.org. www.c-span.org.
27. Web site: 2018 Senate Race Ratings for October 26, 2018. The Cook Political Report. March 13, 2021.
28. Web site: 2018 Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. March 13, 2021.
29. Web site: 2018 Crystal Ball Senate race ratings. Sabato's Crystal Ball. October 11, 2017.
30. Web site: 2018 Senate Power Rankings. . July 10, 2018.
31. Web site: Key Races: Senate. July 15, 2018.
32. Web site: Battle for the Senate 2018. July 15, 2018.
33. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/20180815_MD.pdf Gonzales Research (I-Simon)
34. https://www.goucher.edu/hughes-center/documents/Goucher_Poll_Sept_2018_Part_2.pdf Goucher College
35. Arvin Vohra (L) with 1%
36. Web site: 2018 Senatorial General Election Results - Maryland. Dave Leip's election atlas.
37. Web site: 2012 General Election Results - Maryland. Dave Leip's election atlas.
38. Web site: DRA 2020 . 2024-08-19 . Daves Redistricting.