Ben Cardin is getting worried. And he should be.

He knows he’s not as ensconced as his left-wing fireplug counterpart Barbara Mikulski. He only beat Michael Steele by 10 points in a far more Democrat friendly political climate. National Republicans and tea party activists need to stop conceding Maryland to the leftist Democrats and take notice of Cardin’s vulnerability.

There is a renewed enthusiasm on the right in Maryland. Last election cycle, despite defeats at the ballot box, the Brian Murphy gubernatorial campaign, the Jim Rutledge campaign for U.S. Senate, and the Charles Lollar campaign for Congress built a solid infrastructure for future candidates to build on, as did Congressman Andy Harris‘ successful Congressional run. Conservatives didn’t just go home after the last election. They channeled their energies into building networks and founding political action committees dedicated to getting conservative candidates elected in Maryland at all levels of government. The right is no longer demoralized in Maryland and we are getting organized. This frightens Democrats (and some dead wood Republicans) in the Old Line State.

The word still needs to get out nationally though. If you really want to help take the Senate back from the leftist Democrats in 2012, you need to put Ben Cardin in your crosshairs (yes, I said crosshairs…the left’s attempts at intimidating people into not using innocent metaphors has failed as badly as their economic policies).

We’re still in the primary race but one Republican candidate, Dan Bongino, is a clear front-runner. He’s got an intriguing personal story which has netted him a lot of national media attention with more to come. Glenn Beck, CNN, and Fox News, among others have noticed this former U.S. Secret Service agent who took the risk of resigning his prestigious position to try and serve his country in a more public way. He’s even featured in an upcoming special on The Discovery Channel.

What should frighten Democrats about Dan Bongino is that he is genuinely conservative and able to candidly explain why liberal economic policies have failed. Bongino talks economics like a Marco Rubio or a Paul Ryan. He is also unafraid to campaign in traditional Democrat strongholds like Prince George’s County and Baltimore City. In fact, he adamantly refuses to forfeit those areas as past Republicans have. When he speaks, he wins converts. He may not win over everyone in those places, but he doesn’t need to in order to win–and Cardin knows this.

I encourage my friends in the blogosphere to get the word out about Dan Bongino.  Go to www.bongino.com and make a donation. Get Bongino on your podcast or interview him for your blog. We can win in Maryland if we make the effort.