Cardin to seek seat in Senate

BALTIMORE — Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin will be the third Democrat looking to replace the retiring Paul S. Sarbanes in the U.S. Senate, sources said yesterday.

Mr. Cardin, a Baltimore-area Democrat, has told party leaders of his intention to run for Mr. Sarbanes’ seat in 2006, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mr. Cardin is scheduled to make an announcement Tuesday.

Susan Sullam, Mr. Cardin’s press secretary, declined to comment on the information, first reported by the Baltimore Sun. She said only “his intentions will be made clear very soon.”

Mr. Cardin, 61, since 1987 has represented Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of the city of Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties.

He is known as a cerebral congressman, “in the intellectual and thoughtful mode of Paul Sarbanes,” said Barbara Hoffman, an Annapolis lobbyist and former Democratic state senator who has discussed the race with Mr. Cardin.

“He doesn’t shoot from the hip, which is probably a good thing,” she said.

Mr. Cardin in January became the top Democrat on the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee and is the ranking member of the human resources subcommittee. He prides himself on his work on fiscal issues, touting on his Web site his legislation, made law in 2001, to increase the amount Americans can put into their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.

Before his election to Congress, Mr. Cardin spent nearly 20 years as a state delegate, serving as speaker for the last seven years.

Democrats Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman from Baltimore who recently resigned as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and A. Robert Kaufman, a civic activist who has made several unsuccessful runs for statewide office, also have announced their candidacies.

Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, another Democrat, considered a bid for the Senate seat but recently announced he would stay in the House. The 2nd Congressional District he represents includes parts of the city of Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, 8th District Democrat, announced that he raised more than $300,000 during the last three weeks of March while exploring a bid to replace Mr. Sarbanes. The 8th District includes parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Mr. Sarbanes has served five terms in the Senate, longer than any other person in Maryland history.

“It should be quite an interesting race,” said Mrs. Hoffman, who declined to comment on Mr. Cardin’s intentions. “It’s a pretty exciting time to be a Democrat.”

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele has said he is seriously considering a run.

A recent poll showed that in a matchup against Mr. Steele, Mr. Cardin would fare better than Mr. Mfume and Mr. Van Hollen, edging Mr. Steele by 4 percentage points.

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