By Andrew Barnes and Delise White
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
Ben Cardin was re-elected to the U.S. Senate for a third consecutive term Tuesday night, grabbing a decisive victory with double the votes of his closest competitor, Republican Tony Campbell.
In a victory speech before a crowd jammed into the Baltimore Museum of Industry in South Baltimore, Cardin spoke firmly about his plan for the next six years in office.
“I’m willing to work across party lines to get things done for the people of Maryland,” said Cardin, a Baltimore Democrat with a storied career in politics. “That’s why I’m proud of my record of getting things done in this very difficult environment. But being willing to take the president on when he does things that I believe are against America’s values.”
Cardin also spoke about his plans for legislation, including banning assault rifles, expanding affordable healthcare and ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.
“The election is over,” Cardin said. “It’s time to govern and lead.”
Neal Simon, an independent who finished in third place with about 5 percent of the vote, stepped in front of a crowd of about 75 supporters and close friends in Rockville to deliver his concession speech.
“Today, tens of thousands of people in Maryland voted with us and said that they, too, share our vision,” Simon said. “However, we fell short, and we are united with Sen. Cardin and wish him well in the spirit of putting people over politics on his new term in the Senate.”
Simon is CEO of Bronfman Rothschild, a wealth management and retirement advisory firm, and chairs the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Also, he serves on board of directors for Interfaith Works, a nonprofit organization that battles poverty and homelessness.
Several other Maryland Democratic officials attended Cardin’s election-night party, including Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes and Elijah Cummings, all three who retained their offices.
“We’ve got a lot of people behind us,” Ruppersberger said. “A lot of people are voting who have never voted before, and that’s positive for our country.”
Cummings spoke passionately following Cardin’s speech regarding the current state of politics.
“We must go out there, and we must defend this democracy with everything we’ve got,” Cummings said. “We did not go to Washington to take away people’s rights. We went there to expand people’s rights.”
Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh congratulated Cardin, saying she was ready to get to work with him and the other Maryland officials elected Tuesday night.
Cardin was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1966 and served until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the House until 2007, when he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. In his political career, Cardin has never lost an election.
“We’re 18-and-0,” Cardin said to cheers from supporters and staff.
Also seeking the post were Republican Tony Campbell, a Towson University political science professor, and Libertarian Arvin Vohra.
Over the course of the campaign, Cardin massively outraised his opponents. According to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, Cardin raised nearly $4 million, compared with Simon’s $1.82 million and Campbell’s $193,000.
Acknowledging an uphill battle against an incumbent opponent who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007, Simon said he wants to continue to be a part of a movement within politics but is not certain of what he will do next.
“We didn’t win this time,” said Simon, a 50-year-old Potomac native and the son and grandson of immigrants. “But real change can be like chipping at a dam. You keep knocking down pieces and eventually the river flows through.”
“In the past year, we did lots of chipping. I intend to keep working as part of this movement and I hope you will all join me in opening that dam and letting that river flow,” he said.