Former Senator Evan Bayh will seek to regain his old job, making the official announcement Wednesday that he’s joining the race for Indiana’s open U-S Senate seat.
Bayh, who abruptly dropped out of a reelection run in 2010, says he’s running because partisan bickering has ground Washington to a halt, the very same reason he gave for leaving the Senate six years ago.
Now, the former Democratic Senator says he can no longer sit on the sidelines.
Democratic Senate candidate Baron Hill dropped out of the race Monday after trailing in both fundraising and the polls to Republican Todd Young.
The Young campaign has been on the offensive since rumors surfaced of Bayh joining the race, seeking to label the Democrat as a “Washington super lobbyist” who exemplifies what’s wrong with the system.
Bayh enters the race with a more than an eight-to-one financial advantage over Young.
The Indiana Democratic Party’s central committee is expected to meet on July 22 to formally nominate Bayh to replace Hill on the ballot.
State Democratic Party Chairman John Zody released the following statement after Bayh filed paperwork and announced plans to run for U.S. Senate.
“This week, Baron Hill showed courage by putting Hoosiers ahead of his own political future. He and everyone else knows how high the stakes are in this election and the importance of protecting and fighting for the middle class in the U.S. Senate. Indiana Democrats look forward to having a commonsense leader who will work with Sen. Joe Donnelly, and as our meeting to fill the vacancy approaches, I look forward to discussing Senator Bayh’s candidacy with the State Central Committee.”
- John Zody, Indiana Democratic Party Chair
