The Indiana Senate Election Just Went from LIKELY REPUBLICAN to TOSS-UP (Congress, campaign)
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In a surprise development, former two-term Indiana Governor and two-term Senator from the Hoosier state Evan Bayh will almost certainly be the Democratic candidate for the open seat left by the retiring Republican Dan Coats. Congressman Baron Hill, the would-be Democrat in the race, will announce today that he is withdrawing from the race.
Bayh will come to the race well-funded - he still has $10 million in the campaign account that has been dormant since he left the Senate in 2016.
The only thing surprising about all this is the law lets him keep $10 million. Politicians keep writing sweetheart laws for themselves that would put the rest of us in jail. Bayh just wants to get his snout back in the trough.
The only thing surprising about all this is the law lets him keep $10 million. Politicians keep writing sweetheart laws for themselves that would put the rest of us in jail. Bayh just wants to get his snout back in the trough.
He kept it because where else is it supposed to go? There are limits on how it gets spent, but it's money people donated to him to run for office. He's running for office. Why is the fact that is how the funds are going to be spent supposed to be some criminal offense? Now, if he had used that money for his own personal funds? Yeah, that's an issue. But that's not what's happening.
The only thing surprising about all this is the law lets him keep $10 million. Politicians keep writing sweetheart laws for themselves that would put the rest of us in jail. Bayh just wants to get his snout back in the trough.
He could either keep it for a future run or donate it to another candidate. I don't see the problem there. It used to be that they could simply keep the money for themselves.
In understanding the demographics of IN, I don't see it turning "blue" any time soon.
hmmm... looks like Indiana has a streak of blue in it, after all.... If wikipedia is to be believed, Indiana has, in the recent past, had a Democratic governor, and a Democratic senator for many years. Not only Evan Bayh, but ole Birch Bayh, too.
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III (/ˈbaɪ/BY; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011. He earlier served as the 46thGovernor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.
Bayh first held public office as the Secretary of State of Indiana, elected in 1986. He held the position for only two years before being elected Governor. He left his office after completing two terms and briefly took a job lecturing at Indiana University Bloomington, before being elected to the U.S. Senate seat once held by his father, Birch Bayh.
In understanding the demographics of IN, I don't see it turning "blue" any time soon.
Bayh is a former two term Senator who decided not to seek re-election in 2008. The other Senator is Joe Donnelly, who won in 2012 after the GOP tea partied its way out of the seat.
The only thing surprising about all this is the law lets him keep $10 million. Politicians keep writing sweetheart laws for themselves that would put the rest of us in jail. Bayh just wants to get his snout back in the trough.
Where would it go?? As was mentioned the laws are actually fairly strict on what a candidate can do with left over campaign funds when they are out of office. Bayh won easily in his race for his 2nd term in 2004 without the need to spend a bunch so he had a bunch of $$ leftover, and decided not to seek re-election in 2010 so didn't really spend in that cycle either.
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