Maryland’s top two U.S. Senate candidates raised almost $1.1 million in the 15 days before the election, a handsome sum that reflects the race’s importance in deciding control of the chamber.
Incoming Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin raised more than $619,500, and former Republican candidate Michael Steele gathered $466,000, according to 48-hour notices of contributions and loans received between Oct. 23 and Nov. 6 that the campaigns filed.
These reports are filed on contributions of $1,000 or more received after the 20th day, but more than 48 hours before the day of the election. They are available on the Federal Election Commission Web site.
Raising around $1.1 million between the two candidates in such a short time “must be a record” for Maryland, said Matthew Crenson, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University.
“What it probably means is that by that point in the election it became evident to everybody nationwide that the control of the Senate was up in the air,” he said. “This election in Maryland, because it was one relatively close, was not just about whether Steele or Cardin would win; it was the control of the U.S. Senate.”
Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and House in the midterm election Nov. 7. Maryland’s Senate seat was among the most hotly contested in the country because it was open — Sen. Paul Sarbanes was retiring after 30 years in office — and polls showed the race very close.
Cardin won in Maryland with 54.2 percent of the vote and Steele, the lieutenant governor, got 44.2 percent, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. Tri-party candidate Kevin Zeese got 1.5 percent of the vote.
The increasing importance of the race kept contributions coming.
“It’s an awful amount of money to have raised at a time when you really need to spend every moment with voters if you can,” said Massie Ritsch, communication director of Center for Responsive Politics, an organization that tracks campaign finance.
“Normally you try to do all your fundraising early so then you can focus on the voters. In this case they apparently were able to still raise money right until the end.”
Cardin got 52 percent of his last-minute cash from individual contributions, and the rest of the money he gathered — $294,800 — came from political action committees.
Steele also got most of his money — $ 257,350– from individual contributions, while 45 percent came from political action committees.
The Maryland U.S. Senate race was “just outside of Washington quarters so you have a lot of politically active people who are naturally and professionally inclined to contribute to a political campaign.” said Ritsch. “That also, I think, explains the amount of money (both collected).”
Most of the money both candidates collected came from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., but about $319,100 came from other states, including Texas, California, New York and Florida.
Steele received 36.6 percent from other states, while Cardin took 24 percent of his contributions from out of the tri-state area.
Contributions from other states reflect how important Maryland’s race became in the fight for controlling the Senate, Crenson said.
“People in New York, Texas, Florida and places like that were less interested in who won the Senate seat in Maryland than