Former member of Congress · last served 118th Congress

Benjamin L. Cardin

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · MarylandSenate 2007–2025 · House 1987–2007 (MD-3)

Ben Cardin was a Democratic U.S. senator from Maryland, first elected to Congress in 1987, who voted with most Democrats on 96% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 9 bills that became law (113th–118th Congress).

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497Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–118th Congress (excludes amendments)

17Passed a chamberof 361 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)

9Became law9 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 113th–118th Congress

10Broke with partyof 250 yes/no votes, 112th (4.0%)

1Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (0.4%)

$77.7MPork: own shareFY2024 earmarks, 166 items; shared items split

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

YeaOn Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
NayOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected

5 most recent bills

S. 5581 American FATE Act
Dec 18, 2024 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7181)
S.Con.Res. 45 A concurrent resolution affirming the nature and importance of the support of the United States for Syria.
Dec 18, 2024 · Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S7183-7184)
S. 5574 PULSE Act
Dec 17, 2024 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
S. 5570 CREW Act
Dec 17, 2024 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
S. 5491 RESOLVE Act of 2024
Dec 11, 2024 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Cardin has won

Sen. Cardin has won 10 U.S. House elections (1986–2004) and 3 U.S. Senate elections (2006, 2012, 2018). Of the contested races, margins ran from 10.0 to 58.2 points.

Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed

Elections won13 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed

Closest win: 10.0 points2006, MD Senate

Won an open seat or took one from the other party2 of 13 elections (open seat or changed party)

Seat history, Maryland’s 3rd districtWinners, most recent three: Benjamin L. Cardin (D) 1986–2004 → John P. Sarbanes (D) 2006–2022 → Sarah Elfreth (D) 2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.

Seat history, Maryland Senate (class 1)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Paul Sarbanes (D) 1976–2000 → Benjamin L. Cardin (D) 2006–2018 → Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) 2024.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Maryland done while Sen. Cardin served?

2007 to 2024 in Maryland: typical household income was about the same after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 0.8 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 1.2 points.

Typical household income · after inflation

Maryland: $103.5K in 2007 → $102.9K in 2024

Maryland about the sameU.S. up 6%

Share of people below the poverty line

Maryland: 8.3% in 2007 → 9.1% in 2024

Maryland up 0.8 pointsU.S. down 0.8 points

Share of workers looking for a job

Maryland: 5.5% in 2007 → 4.3% in 2024

Maryland down 1.2 pointsU.S. down 1.7 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Maryland during Cardin’s time representing it (2007 to 2025). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Maryland’s borders do not change, so every year is comparable. The Census Bureau has no 2020 yearly estimate.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

118th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 92 bills sponsored.

Record	Bills	Source
Bills sponsored	92	Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed	5	See the 5 →
With a committee report listed	2	See the 2 →

Evidence

How counted: Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 118th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields: cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed: October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.