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1986 United States Senate election in Maryland

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Field	Value
election_name	1986 United States Senate election in Maryland
country	Maryland
type	presidential
ongoing	no
previous_election	1980 United States Senate election in Maryland
previous_year	1980
next_election	1992 United States Senate election in Maryland
next_year	1992
election_date	November 4, 1986
image_size	x150px
image1	Barbara A Mikulski.jpg
nominee1	Barbara Mikulski
party1	Democratic Party (United States)
popular_vote1	675,225
percentage1	60.69%
image2	Reagan Contact Sheet C28746 (cropped) (cropped).jpg
nominee2	Linda Chavez
party2	Republican Party (United States)
popular_vote2	437,411
percentage2	39.31%
map_image	1986 United States Senate election in Maryland results map by county.svg
map_size	295px
map_caption	County results
Mikulski:
Chavez:
title	U.S. Senator
before_election	Charles Mathias Jr.
before_party	Republican Party (United States)
after_election	Barbara Mikulski
after_party	Democratic Party (United States)

Main article: 1986 United States Senate elections

Mikulski:
Chavez:

The 1986 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles Mathias Jr. decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Democratic U.S. Representative Barbara Mikulski defeated Reagan Administration official Linda Chavez for the open seat. Mikulski's swearing-in marked the first time since 1969 where Democrats held both Senate seats from Maryland.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Congresswoman and nominee for Senator in 1974
Michael D. Barnes, U.S. Congressman
Harry Hughes, Governor of Maryland
Debra Hanania Freeman
Edward M. Olszewski
A. Robert Kaufman, social organizer
Boyd E. Sweatt, perennial candidate
Leonard E. Trout, Jr.

Results

Democratic primary results by county:

| | | |

| | |

| ]]

Republican primary

Candidates

Linda Chavez, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison
Mike Schaefer, former San Diego city councilman
George Haley, former Kansas State Senator
Melvin Perkins, perennial candidate
Nicholas T. Nonnenmacher
Richard Sullivan
Howard D. Greyber, perennial candidate
Monroe Cornish, perennial candidate
Herbert Stone Rosenberg
Horace Stuart Rich
Abraham H. Kalish

Results

Republican primary results by county:

| | | ]]

General election

Candidates

Linda Chavez (R), Assistant to the President for Public Liaison
Barbara Mikulski (D), U.S. Congresswoman

Campaign

Mathias announced his retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate.

Chavez won the primary handily, defeating several Republican challengers. Later, she made comments that some Mikulski supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. In an article quoting Chavez's claim that Mikulski was a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat", The Washington Post reported that Chavez was directly implying that the never-married Mikulski was a lesbian. Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign. In defending her use of the phrase, Chavez stated the line "San Francisco Democrats" was a reference to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which Kirkpatrick coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal.". The phrase "San Francisco liberal" was common at the time.

Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote. She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).

Results

Results by county

County	Barbara A. Mikulski	Linda Chavez	Margin	Total		#		%
	Allegany	8845	45.05%	10790	54.95%	-1945	-9.91%	19635
	Anne Arundel	54936	54.14%	46536	45.86%	8400	8.28%	101472
	Baltimore (City)	137775	82.65%	28926	17.35%	108849	65.30%	166701
	Baltimore (County)	126914	62.30%	76785	37.70%	50129	24.61%	203699
	Calvert	5420	50.23%	5371	49.77%	49	0.45%	10791
	Caroline	2241	45.04%	2735	54.96%	-494	-9.93%	4976
	Carroll	11659	43.20%	15329	56.80%	-3670	-13.60%	26988
	Cecil	6879	48.47%	7312	51.53%	-433	-3.05%	14191
	Charles	8958	50.82%	8670	49.18%	288	1.63%	17628
	Dorchester	3562	47.18%	3988	52.82%	-426	-5.64%	7550
	Frederick	13153	44.29%	16547	55.71%	-3394	-11.43%	29700
	Garrett	1908	33.26%	3829	66.74%	-1921	-33.48%	5737
	Harford	21534	52.91%	19168	47.09%	2366	5.81%	40702
	Howard	25723	57.57%	18960	42.43%	6763	15.14%	44683
	Kent	2791	54.13%	2365	45.87%	426	8.26%	5156
	Montgomery	117058	59.26%	80469	40.74%	36589	18.52%	197527
	Prince George's	85536	66.76%	42585	33.24%	42951	33.52%	128121
	Queen Anne's	3915	49.14%	4052	50.86%	-137	-1.72%	7967
	St. Mary's	6484	53.32%	5676	46.68%	808	6.64%	12160
	Somerset	2566	43.65%	3312	56.35%	-746	-12.69%	5878
	Talbot	3712	43.12%	4896	56.88%	-1184	-13.75%	8608
	Washington	12181	44.81%	15005	55.19%	-2824	-10.39%	27186
	Wicomico	7463	44.54%	9291	55.46%	-1828	-10.91%	16754
	Worcester	4016	45.44%	4822	54.56%	-806	-9.12%	8838
Total	675229	60.69%	437419	39.31%	237810	21.37%	1112648

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Anne Arundel
Baltimore (County)
Baltimore (City)
Calvert
Charles
Harford
Howard
Kent
Montgomery
Prince George's
St. Mary's

References

(August 17, 2001). "Maryland State Board of Elections". Elections.state.md.us.
(n.d.). "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - D Primary Race - Sep 09 1986". Our Campaigns.
(n.d.). "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - R Primary Race - Sep 09 1986". Our Campaigns.
"Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986". Clerk of the House of Representatives.
(n.d.). "Archives of Maryland, Volume 0183, Page 0676 - Maryland Manual, 1987-88". [[Maryland State Archives]].
(n.d.). "Our Campaigns - MD US Senate Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns.
(March 26, 2009). "1986 Senatorial General Election Results - Maryland". [[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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