1. Benjamin Louis Cardin was born on October 5,1943 and is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 2007 until 2025.
54 Facts About Ben Cardin
1. 2.
Ben Cardin has never lost an election in his entire political career.
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Ben Cardin was elected as US senator to succeed Paul Sarbanes in 2006, defeating Republican Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor of Maryland.
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Ben Cardin became Maryland's senior US senator on January 3,2017, upon Barbara Mikulski's retirement.
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Ben Cardin won reelection in 2012 and 2018, and retired on January 3,2025.
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Ben Cardin's mother Dora was a schoolteacher and his father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates and later sat on the Baltimore City Supreme Bench.
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Ben Cardin earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967, graduating first in his class.
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Ben Cardin was admitted to the Maryland Bar that same year, and joined the private practice of Rosen and Esterson until 1978.
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Ben Cardin held the seat once held by his uncle, Maurice Cardin, who had decided to not run for re-election so that his nephew could instead pursue the seat.
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Ben Cardin served as one of the House impeachment managers that successfully prosecuted the case in the 1989 impeachment trial of Judge Walter Nixon.
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Ben Cardin authored legislation to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit for chronic illnesses; fund graduate medical education; and guarantee coverage for emergency services.
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Ben Cardin authored bills to expand child support, improve the welfare-to-work program, and increase the child care tax credit.
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Ben Cardin has been commended for his work with fiscal policy.
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Ben Cardin has been honored by Worth magazine and by Treasury and Risk Management for his work protecting retirement plans and government-supported medical care for the elderly.
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Ben Cardin was one of 133 members of Congress to vote against the 2002 Iraq Resolution.
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In 2023, Ben Cardin voted with a bipartisan majority to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq.
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On September 12,2006, Cardin faced a challenging primary battle with other Maryland Democrats, including Allan Lichtman, Josh Rales, Dennis F Rasmussen, and his former House colleague Kweisi Mfume.
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Ben Cardin won with 44 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Mfume, five percent for Rales, and two percent for Rasmussen.
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On May 1,2023, Ben Cardin announced that he would retire and not seek re-election in 2024.
20.
Ben Cardin was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count when the January 6 United States Capitol attack happened.
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Ben Cardin was on the Senate chamber floor when the rioters breached the Capitol.
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In 2024, Ben Cardin advocated for the federal government to fund the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it collapsed when a ship crashed into it.
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Ben Cardin was selected by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to fill in for Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee until she returned.
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In 2015, Ben Cardin became the ranking Democratic member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the departure of Senator Robert Menendez as ranking Democrat and chairman.
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Two weeks after Menendez departure, Ben Cardin was credited with facilitating achievement of a unanimous committee vote in favor of the markup for the bill on the USA's involvement in the negotiations with Iran on nuclear technology.
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Ben Cardin has been a Commissioner on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe since 1993, serving as Ranking Member from 2003 to 2006.
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Ben Cardin subsequently served two terms as co-chair of the commission, from 2007 to 2008, and 2011 to 2012; and two terms as chair, from 2009 to 2010, and 2013 to 2014.
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Senator Ben Cardin is a supporter of the death penalty but says it should only be applied to the "worst of the worst".
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In 2007, Ben Cardin supported the United States Public Service Academy Act.
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Liberal environmentalists criticized Ben Cardin for compromising too much while working with conservative James Inhofe on an amendment to Ben Cardin's Chesapeake Bay legislation.
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In November 2018, Ben Cardin was one of twenty-five Democratic senators to cosponsor a resolution specifying key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment.
32.
In March 2019, Ben Cardin was one of eleven senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019, legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would have the responsibility for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic, which had been dismantled by President Trump in 2017.
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Ben Cardin has sponsored legislation in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.
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Ben Cardin has an "F" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.
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Ben Cardin opposed the 2016 sale of approximately 26,000 assault rifles to the national police of the Philippines.
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Ben Cardin's opposition led to the US State Department halting the sale.
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In October 2019, Ben Cardin was one of twenty-seven senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer advocating for the passage of the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence Act, which was set to expire the following month.
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On October 31,2011, Ben Cardin endorsed the proposal for the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.
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Ben Cardin is one of only six persons who served as members of the United States Congress ever to do so and is the only one who did so while in office.
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Ben Cardin has often supported positions that aim to strengthen America's relationship with Israel.
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Ben Cardin has argued that Israel's human rights record should not be considered in regard to sending US military aid to Israel.
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In July 2017, Ben Cardin voted in favor of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran together with Russia and North Korea.
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In October 2017, Ben Cardin condemned the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and called for a stronger response to the crisis.
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Ben Cardin condemned President Erdogan's wide-ranging crackdown on dissent following a failed July 2016 coup in America's NATO ally Turkey.
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In 2023 Senator Ben Cardin became the chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
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In 2022, Ben Cardin voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation intended to codify same-sex marriage rights into federal law.
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Ben Cardin supports Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which gives DOJ the tools to target those site owners who are engaged in illegal digital piracy.
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Ben Cardin is opposed to eliminating the tax deduction for charitable donations and supports raising taxes on higher-income earners.
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Ben Cardin spoke out after the Pandora Papers were revealed in 2021.
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In November 2011, Ben Cardin's intended update of the 1917 Espionage Act upset some public disclosure advocates.
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Ben Cardin is a co-sponsor of a Senate resolution expressing objection to the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of international law.
52.
Ben Cardin supported President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
53.
In January 2024, Ben Cardin rejected Bernie Sanders' resolution that would have required the State Department to report to Congress on any evidence of human rights violations by Israel in Gaza.
54.
Ben Cardin married high school sweetheart Myrna Edelman, a teacher, on November 24,1964.