Ben Cardin Bio
Benjamin Louis Cardin, widely known as Ben Cardin, is an American lawyer and former politician who built one of the longest careers in modern Maryland political history. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maryland from 2007 until his retirement on January 3, 2025, following a six-decade run in elected office that began in 1967. Before joining the Senate, Cardin represented Maryland’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007 and spent two decades in the Maryland House of Delegates, including eight years as Speaker. He is widely recognized for his work on foreign relations, environmental protection, health care, and fiscal policy.
Early Life and Background
Benjamin Louis Cardin was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 5, 1943. His family name was originally Kardonsky before it was changed to Cardin, and his grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His maternal grandfather, Benjamin Green, ran a neighborhood grocery store that later grew into a wholesale food distribution company. Cardin’s mother, Dora, worked as a schoolteacher, and his father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1935 to 1937 before later sitting on the Baltimore City Supreme Bench from 1961 to 1977.
Cardin grew up attending the Modern Orthodox Beth Tfiloh Congregation near his family home, where the family had been affiliated for three generations. He graduated from Baltimore City College in 1961 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. In 1967, he completed his Juris Doctor at the University of Maryland School of Law, graduating first in his class, and was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year.
Path to US Politics
Even while still in law school, Cardin was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in November 1966, taking the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin. He rose quickly through the chamber, chairing the Ways and Means Committee from 1974 to 1979 before becoming the 103rd Speaker of the House, a position he held until 1987. At age 35, he was the youngest Speaker in Maryland history at the time, and he used the role to push reforms in property taxation, school financing, and ethical standards for elected officials.
After two decades in Annapolis, Cardin set his sights on the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986, running for the seat vacated by Barbara Mikulski. He won the Democratic primary with 82 percent of the vote and cruised to a general-election win with 79 percent. He would be reelected nine times in the 3rd congressional district, never dropping below 65 percent of the vote, and later succeeded Paul Sarbanes in the U.S. Senate in 2006 by defeating Republican Michael Steele.
Ben Cardin Career
Early Career (1967–1986)
Cardin’s early political career was rooted in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served from 1967 to 1987. Alongside his legislative work, he practiced law with the firm of Rosen and Esterson from 1967 to 1978, building a legal foundation that would shape his later policy work. His time in Annapolis was marked by steady advancement, culminating in his election as Speaker in 1979.
As Speaker, Cardin focused on modernizing Maryland’s property tax system, revising the school financing formula, and tightening ethical standards for public officials. These reforms established him as a serious policy thinker and helped position him for a run at federal office. By the time he left the statehouse, he had two decades of legislative experience and a reputation for bipartisan deal-making.
Breakthrough (1987–2006)
Cardin’s first major breakthrough came in 1986 when he won Maryland’s 3rd congressional district seat, beginning a two-decade run in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the House, he served as one of the impeachment managers who successfully prosecuted the case in the 1989 impeachment trial of Judge Walter Nixon. He also became a leading voice on fiscal issues, pension reform, and health care, authoring legislation that increased 401(k) and IRA contribution limits, expanded Medicare to cover preventive screenings, and added a prescription drug benefit for chronic illnesses.
His second breakthrough arrived in 2006, when he won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by Paul Sarbanes and then defeated Republican Michael Steele 54 percent to 44 percent in the general election. He was sworn in as Maryland’s newest U.S. senator in January 2007, capping a 40-year journey from the statehouse to the upper chamber of Congress.
Democratic Party Era (2007–2025)
During his three terms in the Senate, Cardin became a senior figure on foreign relations and small business issues. In 2015, he became the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and in 2023, he became chair of the committee. He also chaired the Senate Small Business Committee and served on the Helsinki Commission for decades, including as co-chair and chair, and was elected vice president of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly in 2006, serving through 2014.
Cardin built a reputation as a champion of environmental protection, earning 100 percent ratings from the League of Conservation Voters, and as a defender of civil rights, with a 100 percent rating from the NAACP. He was one of 133 members of Congress to vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution and later voted with a bipartisan majority in 2023 to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force. In 2018, he won a third Senate term by taking 56 percent of the vote against Republican Dan Bongino. On May 1, 2023, Cardin announced he would not seek reelection in 2024, and he retired on January 3, 2025. In January 2026, he joined Johns Hopkins University as a distinguished senior fellow.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the defining moments of Cardin’s career was his participation in certifying the 2021 Electoral College vote on January 6, when the U.S. Capitol was attacked. He was on the Senate floor when rioters breached the building and was quickly moved to a secure location, later calling for the Twenty-fifth Amendment or impeachment to remove President Donald Trump. In 2024, he advocated for federal funding to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed when a ship struck it.
Ben Cardin Career Wins
Across nearly six decades in elected office, Benjamin Louis Cardin never lost an election, a record that places him among the most durable politicians in Maryland history. He won 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and three terms in the U.S. Senate, retiring in January 2025 at the end of his final term.
Senate Highlights
Cardin won his first Senate race in 2006 by defeating Republican Michael Steele 54 percent to 44 percent, and he was reelected in 2012 and 2018. His 2018 victory over Republican Dan Bongino was his most decisive Senate win, with 56 percent of the vote. He became Maryland’s senior U.S. senator in January 2017 after Barbara Mikulski’s retirement and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee beginning in 2023.
Other Wins and Achievements
Cardin authored the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping small businesses survive the economic shutdown, and played a leading role on Chesapeake Bay restoration legislation. He also helped secure dental benefits in the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan and was a vocal advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, gun-control legislation, and the Respect for Marriage Act, which he voted for in 2022.
Ben Cardin Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Cardin’s path into public service was shaped by a family with deep roots in Maryland politics and the law. His father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1935 to 1937 and later sat on the Baltimore City Supreme Bench from 1961 to 1977. His uncle, Maurice Cardin, held the Maryland House of Delegates seat that Ben would later occupy, and his nephew, Jon S. Cardin, was elected in 2002 to represent the 11th district in western Baltimore County, creating a rare instance of two Cardins appearing on the same ticket.
Personal Life
Cardin married his high school sweetheart, Myrna Edelman, a teacher, on November 24, 1964. The couple has a daughter, Deborah, and a son, Michael, who was born in 1967 or 1968 and died by suicide on March 24, 1998, at age 30. Cardin, who is Jewish, attended Beth Tfiloh Congregation, and he has been a longtime resident of the Baltimore area throughout his career.