The 1986 United States Senate election in Maryland was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican Senator Charles Mathias Jr. decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Democratic U.S. Representative Barbara Mikulski defeated Reagan Administration official Linda Chavez for the open seat. Mikulski's swearing-in marked the first time since 1969 where Democrats held both Senate seats from Maryland.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

[[File:1986 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Maryland results map by county.svg|thumb|200px|Democratic primary results by county: Map legend {{legend|#BDD3FF|Mikulski—30–40%}} {{legend|#A5B0FF|Mikulski—40–50%}} {{legend|#7996E2|Mikulski—50–60%}} {{legend|#6674DE|Mikulski—60–70%}} {{legend|#FFEEAA|Barnes—30–40%}} {{legend|#FFDD55|Barnes—40–50%}} {{legend|#CE9b1E|Barnes—70-80%}} {{legend|#FFCCA9|Hughes—30–40%}} ]]

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

[[File:1986 United States Senate Repulican primary election in Maryland results map by county.svg|thumb|200px|Republican primary results by county: Map legend {{legend|#D75D5D|Chavez—70–80%}} {{legend|#C21B18|Chavez—80–90%}} {{legend|#A80000|Chavez—>90%}} ]]

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Mathias announced his retirement from politics. At the time of this announcement, it was expected that then-Governor Harry Hughes would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mathias. However, Hughes became caught up in the aftermath of the Maryland savings and loan crisis. He lost popularity with voters, opening the door for Mikulski's bid for the Senate. Chavez won the primary handily, defeating several Republican challengers. Later, she made comments that some Mikulski supporters interpreted as an attempt to draw attention to the issue of Mikulski's sexual orientation. In an article quoting Chavez's claim that Mikulski was a "San Francisco-style, George McGovern, liberal Democrat", The Washington Post reported that Chavez was directly implying that the never-married Mikulski was a lesbian. Chavez was accused of making Mikulski's sexual orientation a central issue of the political campaign. In defending her use of the phrase, Chavez stated the line "San Francisco Democrats" was a reference to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 Republican National Convention "Blame America First" speech, in which Kirkpatrick coined the phrase "San Francisco Liberal.". The phrase "San Francisco liberal" was common at the time. Mikulski never directly responded to the issue and eventually won the race with 61 percent of the vote. She was the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic