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 County results Mathias: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Mikulski: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1974 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 5, 1974, to elect one ofMaryland's members to theUnited States Senate.IncumbentRepublican U.S. SenatorCharles Mathias Jr. won re-election to a second term defeatingBaltimore City CouncilwomanBarbara Mikulski, who won theSenate election 12 years later for this same seat upon Mathias' retirement.
This election marks the last time either party won a race for Maryland's Class 3 US Senate seat with less than 60% of the vote.
As a Republican representing heavily Democratic Maryland, Mathias faced a potentially difficult re-election bid for the1974 election. State Democrats nominatedBarbara Mikulski, then aBaltimore City Councilwoman who was well known to residents in her city as asocial activist, but with limited name recognition in the rest of the state.[1] Mathias was renominated by Republicans, fending off a primary election challenge from conservative doctor Ross Pierpont. Pierpont was never a substantial threat to Mathias, whose lack of competition was due in part to fallout from the Watergate scandal.[2][3]
As an advocate forcampaign finance reform, Mathias refused to accept any contribution over $100 to "avoid the curse of big money that has led to so much trouble in the last year".[4] However, he still managed to raise over $250,000, nearly five times Mikulski's total. Ideologically, Mikulski and Mathias agreed on many issues, such as closing tax loopholes and easing taxes on themiddle class. On two issues, however, Mathias argued to reform Congress and the U.S. tax system to address inflation and corporate price fixing, contrary to Mikulski.[1] In retrospect,The Washington Post felt the election was "an intelligent discussion of state, national, and foreign affairs by two smart, well-informed people".[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Mathias (inc.) | 503,223 | 57.3 | |
| Democratic | Barbara A. Mikulski | 374,663 | 42.7 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | ||||
| Total votes | 877,886 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| County | Charlies Mathias Republican | Barbara Mikulski Democratic | Margin | Total Votes Cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Allegany | 15893 | 76.21% | 4962 | 23.79% | 10931 | 52.41% | 20855 |
| Anne Arundel | 39180 | 57.97% | 28404 | 42.03% | 10776 | 15.94% | 67584 |
| Baltimore (City) | 57331 | 40.10% | 85625 | 59.90% | -28294 | -19.79% | 142956 |
| Baltimore (County) | 86651 | 49.09% | 89866 | 50.91% | -3215 | -1.82% | 176517 |
| Calvert | 3023 | 60.81% | 1948 | 39.19% | 1075 | 21.63% | 4971 |
| Caroline | 2034 | 61.75% | 1260 | 38.25% | 774 | 23.50% | 3294 |
| Carroll | 10102 | 67.50% | 4865 | 32.50% | 5237 | 34.99% | 14967 |
| Cecil | 5685 | 58.16% | 4090 | 41.84% | 1595 | 16.32% | 9775 |
| Charles | 6270 | 60.53% | 4088 | 39.47% | 2182 | 21.07% | 10358 |
| Dorchester | 3472 | 61.97% | 2131 | 38.03% | 1341 | 23.93% | 5603 |
| Frederick | 16938 | 79.39% | 4397 | 20.61% | 12541 | 58.78% | 21335 |
| Garrett | 4197 | 76.55% | 1286 | 23.45% | 2911 | 53.09% | 5483 |
| Harford | 15182 | 53.72% | 13077 | 46.28% | 2105 | 7.45% | 28259 |
| Howard | 14561 | 59.44% | 9938 | 40.56% | 4623 | 18.87% | 24499 |
| Kent | 2824 | 64.43% | 1559 | 35.57% | 1265 | 28.86% | 4383 |
| Montgomery | 114850 | 69.99% | 49239 | 30.01% | 65611 | 39.99% | 164089 |
| Prince George's | 64443 | 57.85% | 46961 | 42.15% | 17482 | 15.69% | 111404 |
| Queen Anne's | 2111 | 53.34% | 1847 | 46.66% | 264 | 6.67% | 3958 |
| St. Mary's | 5012 | 61.21% | 3176 | 38.79% | 1836 | 22.42% | 8188 |
| Somerset | 2631 | 57.28% | 1962 | 42.72% | 669 | 14.57% | 4593 |
| Talbot | 3744 | 63.96% | 2110 | 36.04% | 1634 | 27.91% | 5854 |
| Washington | 16690 | 74.09% | 5837 | 25.91% | 10853 | 48.18% | 22527 |
| Wicomico | 7353 | 63.61% | 4206 | 36.39% | 3147 | 27.23% | 11559 |
| Worcester | 3046 | 62.48% | 1829 | 37.52% | 1217 | 24.96% | 4875 |
| Total | 503223 | 57.32% | 374663 | 42.68% | 128560 | 14.64% | 877886 |
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See also:Political party strength in Maryland | |||||||||||||||||||
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