The 1986 Maryland Senate election were held on November 4, 1986, to elect senators in all 47 districts of the Maryland Senate. Members were elected in single-member constituencies to four-year terms. These elections were held concurrently with various federal and state elections, including for Governor of Maryland.
Following landslide victories for Paul Sarbanes and Harry Hughes in the 1982 elections, Republicans largely spent the following four years rebuilding the party. The party began its 1986 campaigns in a strong position with White House aide Linda Chavez leading the ticket, however, the party's status weakened as the election approached, with it shifting its focus away from legislative gains and toward limiting its legislative losses.
Summary
Closest races
Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
Retiring incumbents
Democrats
- District 11: Melvin Steinberg retired to run for lieutenant governor of Maryland alongside William Donald Schaefer.
- District 14: James Clark Jr. retired.
- District 19: Sidney Kramer retired to run for Montgomery County Executive.
- District 20: Stewart W. Bainum Jr. retired to run for Congress in Maryland's 8th congressional district.
- District 25: B. W. Mike Donovan retired.
- District 38: Joseph J. Long Sr. retired.
- District 39: Clarence Mitchell III retired to run for Congress in Maryland's 7th congressional district.
Detailed results
All election results are from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
References