Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Democratic Maryland Senator Ben Cardin raised less then $15,000 in the quarter ending in March 2023, despite the fact that he is up for reelection 2024.
Cardin, 79, has been in Congress and the Senate since 1987. Reports from several news outlets indicate that Cardin is contemplating retirement. Maryland Democrats such as Reps. Jamie Raskin or David Trone are being floated to fill his seat. Cardin had previously stated that he would make a decision by the end March on whether he will run for re-election. However, he has not yet made a final decision.
Cardin has nearly $1 million in cash, an aide said when the Daily Caller asked for a comment. Maryland hasn’t elected a Republican Senator since Charles Mathias was elected to a third term as senator in 1980. Former Republican Governor Larry Hogan refused to run in 2022 against Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, despite pleas from GOP leadership.
The aide said, “I would not read too much into this.”
Democratic Senators. Both Sherrod and Jon Tester, who are both running for re-election in Ohio and Montana, released their reports on campaign finance Friday. Tester raised $5 million while Brown collected $3.5 million. Joe Manchin of the Democratic West Virginia Senate, who has been mulling over a run for a third term and is still considering it, hasn’t yet reported his total fundraising.
Cardin raised almost $325,000 in the same period of the 2018 cycle and had $1.4 million in cash.
Democratic Senators Debbie Stabenow from Michigan and Dianne Fennstein from California have both announced that they will retire at the end the 118th Congress. Rep. Elissa slotkin will likely be the Democratic nominee for Michigan while Feinstein’s resignation has sparked a power battle within California’s House delegaiton. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee are all Democratic Reps. They have already announced their bids.
