Ben Cardin

Ben Cardin
Official portrait, 2015
United States Senator from Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007 Serving with Chris Van Hollen
Preceded by	Paul Sarbanes
Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office September 27, 2023
Preceded by	Bob Menendez
Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee
In office February 3, 2021 – September 27, 2023
Preceded by	Marco Rubio
Succeeded by	Jeanne Shaheen
Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee
In office February 6, 2018 – February 3, 2021
Preceded by	Jeanne Shaheen
Succeeded by	Rand Paul
In office January 3, 2015 – April 2, 2015
Preceded by	Jim Risch
Succeeded by	Jeanne Shaheen
Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
In office April 2, 2015 – February 6, 2018
Preceded by	Bob Menendez
Succeeded by	Bob Menendez
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Barbara Mikulski
Succeeded by	John Sarbanes
103rd Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office January 6, 1979 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	John Hanson Briscoe
Succeeded by	Clayton Mitchell
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 42nd district
In office January 6, 1967 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Maurice Cardin
Succeeded by	David Shapiro
Personal details
Born	Benjamin Louis Cardin (1943-10-05) October 5, 1943 (age 80) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Myrna Edelman ​ (m. 1964)​
Children	2
Relatives	Meyer Cardin (father)
Education	University of Pittsburgh (BA) University of Maryland, Baltimore (JD)
Signature
Website	Senate website
Cardin's voice Cardin questions IRS commissioner nominee Daniel Werfel on tax loopholes and small businesses Recorded February 15, 2023

Benjamin Louis Cardin (born Benjamin Louis Kardonsky October 5, 1943), is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007. Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as its speaker from 1979 to 1987, the youngest person to ever hold the position. In his half-century career as an elected official, he has never lost an election.

Cardin was elected as U.S. Senator to succeed Paul Sarbanes in 2006, defeating Republican Michael Steele, the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, by a margin of 54% to 44%. He was reelected in 2012 taking 56% of the vote.^[1] He became Maryland's senior U.S. senator on January 3, 2017, upon Barbara Mikulski's retirement. Cardin won reelection to a third term in 2018, taking 65% of the vote. Cardin will retire rather than run for reelection in 2024.