WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Democratic candidate for US Senate, Baron Hill, announced today that he is withdrawing from the race. Hill will be replaced on the ticket by Evan Bayh, the former Governor of Indiana and Senator who left the Senate in 2010. Bayh will be facing off against the Republican candidate, Todd Young, in November. Young is the current representative for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District.
The director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University, Joe Losco, says that the Bayh name carries considerable clout with older Hoosiers; even though younger generations may not know much about him, saying “The Bayh name is significant in Indiana, going back to his father; who spent long years in Washington and was instrumental in much legislation during the 60s and 70s. Evan, that’s his son, was very important in the state.
“First, as governor, he brought some fiscal discipline to the state of Indiana. He was admired for being fiscally conservative, while being fairly liberal on social issues- and he’s kind of set the tone and agenda for the time that he was in office. The he went to the US Senate. I imagine that young Hoosiers may only remember the fact that he quit the Senate several years ago, and that may be the only thing that they remember about him. But the Bayh name has a pedigree for older Hoosiers that goes way back.”
Evan Bayh left office during primary season in 2010, announcing his decision too late for any Democratic candidate to collect the signatures to have their name added to the primary ballot. That move left the decision in the hands of the party, who selected Brad Ellsworth to replace Bayh. Ellsworth lost badly to Dan Coats in the general election. Bayh cited partisanship and gridlock as his reasons for leaving the Senate, which could prove to be a liability in this year’s race.
Joe Losco spoke about how Bayh’s previous Senate career might be an issue during the campaign: “Well, he said he wasn’t getting and traction in trying to bring Democrats and Republicans together. He said there was too much polarization in the Senate; and he’s right in that account. But I think that what you’re going to see is that the Republicans are going to pounce on him as someone who didn’t stick with it- If he had these convictions that the Senate was too polarized- then why didn’t he stay and try and do something about it. And I think that will be a target that Republicans will hit pretty hard.”
Others have criticized Bayh’s choice of post-Senate employment. In announcing his decision to leave the Senate, Bayh said he was considering a move to higher education, or possibly running a charitable organization. Instead, Bayh signed on with a law firm representing energy and manufacturing companies, and took an advising position with a private equity firm. Ezra Klein, writing for the Washington Post, accused Bayh in 2011 of working for the same forces that Bayh once claimed were “corrosive” to American politics.
Despite his potential weaknesses, Evan Bayh is considered a formidable candidate in comparison to Baron Hill. Bayh comes packaged with nearly 10 million dollars in unspent campaign money left over from his previous Senate run, along with significantly higher name recognition. Hill, by comparison, had less than $400,000 available to challenge Todd Young.
Joe Losco spoke about how the combination of the two factors might be an advantage to aid Bayh in the next election: “Well, there are two big advantages that Evan Bayh has over Baron Hill. One is money. Evan Bayh bring over $9M already in his war chest to this race, and Baron was struggling to be competitive financially. The second is name recognition. Baron Hill is known in the southern part of the state, which he represented- but he’s not really known statewide. Evan Bayh is known statewide. There are very few names in Indiana that have any higher name recognition.”
CNN has reported that national Democratic recruiters had been encouraging Bayh to get involved in the race since last year. These efforts are part of a national strategy by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to recruit top-tier candidates and challenge Republican control of the Senate. Baron Hill posted a statement on his website announcing his withdrawal from the race. He cited a disadvantage in fundraising but did not mention Evan Bayh. The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a statement today criticizing Bayh’s post-Senate employment and his support for President Obama’s policies.
