1986 Maryland Senate election

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.

Closest races
Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:• # State Senate district 16, 7.45%

• # State Senate district 14, 8.12%

Democrats

 * 1) District 11: Melvin Steinberg retired to run for lieutenant governor of Maryland alongside William Donald Schaefer.
 * 2) District 14: James Clark Jr. retired.
 * 3) District 19: Sidney Kramer retired to run for Montgomery County Executive.
 * 4) District 20: Stewart W. Bainum Jr. retired to run for Congress in Maryland's 8th congressional district.
 * 5) District 25: B. W. Mike Donovan retired.
 * 6) District 38: Joseph J. Long Sr. retired.
 * 7) 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.