She held her job for nearly 30 years, so for the first time voters had to decide who would fill the senate seat of Barbara Mikulski.
Both she and senator Ben Cardin voiced their support for senator Catherine Pugh for the mayor of Baltimore and representative Chris Van Hollen to fill Mikulski's seat. They also supported Hillary Clinton after her victory in Maryland's presidential primary, but feel Bernie Sanders has reinvigorated the party with a breathe of fresh air.
That new energy could be a reason voter turnout at the polls was higher than previous years.
"What was so fortifying and even inspirational was the number of people turning out in a calm, orderly way," Mikulski said. "The number of young people from the east side, west side, all around the town. I thought 'you know what? Baltimore's got it.' We're going to not only move to new leadership, but we're also going to have real momentum."
Both senators also feel the many new faces on Baltimore's city council could help push the city even further toward change after last year's unrest.
Even though she's on her way out, Mikulski says she wants to assist the Democratic nominees any way she can.
