Elections

Evan Bayh Announces Comeback Run In Key Indiana Senate Race

REUTERS/Mike Segar

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Phillip Stucky Political Reporter
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Former Democratic Governor and Senator of Indiana Evan Bayh announced Monday he is replacing Baron Hill as the Democratic candidate for the 2016 Indiana Senate race.

Democrat Baron Hill won the Democratic primary in the state earlier this year, but he decided to drop out of the race against Republican Congressman Todd Young, without announcing who will replace him.

“Democrats have a very real chance at winning this Senate seat, especially with a strong nominee who has the money, name identification and resources to win. I do not want to stand in the way of Democrats winning Indiana and the U.S. Senate,” Hill said in an email to supporters Monday, according to The Hill. “That would not be fair to my party or my state. And, the stakes are far too high in this election not to put my country above my own political ambitions.”

The Indiana Democratic Party will “undertake a process to fill the vacancy with a nominee who will win in November,” Hill continued. Shortly after Hill’s email went out, former Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced he will run in Hill’s place.

There is no polling data in the Senate race so far, but Republican Todd Young was widely favored to win against Hill, but pundits believe Bayh’s entry into the race will change matters drastically. Hill had over $150,000 cash on hand in his campaign account Monday, while Young reported huge fundraising gains, and maintains over $1 million in cash on hand. Bayh Currently has $9.3 million in campaign funds saved in a federal campaign account left over from his previous senate bids in 1998 and 2004. The fundraising difference alone is drastic.

Bayh carried the district in both races with over 60 percent of the vote, and is expected to do well again. During his tenure in the Senate, Bayh supported the War in Iraq, and worked with the Bush administration until he changed his position in 2004.

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