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, 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 Brian Murphy, candidate for Governor in 2010 Eric Wargotz, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 Results General election Candidates Ben Cardin (Democratic), Incumbent U.S. Senator and former U.S. Representative Daniel Bongino (Republican), former United States Secret Service agent Dean Ahmad (Libertarian), President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute S. Rob Sobhani (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 radio on October 24 including Senator Ben Cardin, Rob Sobhani, Dean Ahmad and Daniel Bongino. An October 30 debate at Salisbury University to have featured those candidates and independent Ed Tinus 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 Top contributors Top industries Predictions Polling Results See also 2012 United States Senate elections 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland References 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