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Ben Cardin's Ratings and Endorsements

Office:

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

8%
2024
8%
2023
0%
2023
7%
2022
0%
2021-2022
5%
2020
25%
2019-2020
25%
2019-2020
3%
2018
0%
2017-2018
2%
2016
0%
2015-2016
2%
2015
0%
2015
2%
2014
0%
2014
2%
2011-2012
9%
2011-2012
0%
2009-2010
0%
2007-2008
8%
2007
0%
2006
0%
2017-2018
9%
2015-2016
0%
2013-2014
0%
2011-2012
0%
2009-2010
0%
2009
7%
2007-2008
3%
2005-2006
3%
2003-2004
5%
2003
8%
2001-2002
10%
1999-2000
43%
2000
63%
1999
74%
1998
72%
1997
60%
1996
36%
1995
74%
2011
67%
2010
91%
2009
90
2008
90
2007
100%
2005
100%
2004
83%
2003
50%
2002
0%
2014
0%
2014
100%
2022
100%
2021
100%
2020
100%
2018
100%
2017
100%
2015
100%
2014
91%
2013
100%
2012
100%
2009-2010
100%
2009
100%
2008
65
2007
100%
2006
100%
2005
100%
2004
100%
2003
75%
2002
67%
2000
73%
1999
73%
1998
69%
1996
43%
2021-2022
20%
2019-2020
0%
2017-2018
17%
2015-2016
17%
2015-2016
0%
2013-2014
0%
2013
36%
2011-2012
44%
2011
9%
2009-2010
55
2007-2008
17%
2005-2006
13%
2005
17%
2003-2004
0%
2003
14%
2001-2002
11%
2001
10%
1999-2000
20%
1997-1998
40%
1997
30%
1995-1996
97%
2023-2024
97%
2023-2024
99%
2021-2022
99%
2021-2022
94%
2021-2022
94%
2021-2022
81%
2019-2020
81%
2019-2020
93%
2019-2020
93%
2019-2020
96%
2015
98%
2015
99%
2013-2014
99%
2013-2014
98%
2013-2014
98%
2013-2014
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