Bayh Leaves Indiana Up For Grabs in 2010

Bayh Leaves Indiana Up For Grabs in 2010
By: Ashley Freije

Evan Bayh took the political world by surprise on February 15 by announcing he would no longer seek reelection for the Indiana senate seat he has held for two-terms.

It was a move no one saw coming. Reports say that even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was unaware of Bayh’s intention to step out of the race. Most polls had Bayh beating any challenger by large margins (in polls against Representative Mike Pence, Bayh looses, but Pence has said he will not run for the senate).

The Bayhs in Indiana can be equated to the Kennedys in Masachusettes. Bayh was Secretary of State before serving two-terms as governor, then moving to his two-terms in senate. His father, Birch Bayh, was an Indiana Senator from 1963-1981. Both enjoy huge popularity in the state.

Bayh’s announcement came the day before the filing deadline to get on the ballot for the May primary. This short notice meant that no candidate was able to get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Bloomington restaurant owner Tamyra d'Ippolito was thought to be a possible replacement, but she failed to garner enough signatures.

Since there are no official candidates, the state democratic committee will be given the task of choosing a nominee for the seat. According to The Indianapolis Star, the committee can pick a nominee as early as next week, or as late as August. Bayh told the Star he would rather not get involved with choosing his successor, but hopes the party will choose someone that is a “consensus candidate.” He believes that at least two or three serious candidates will emerge.

The lack of Bayh, a strong force in Indiana politics for over two-decades, leaves the field wide open for a large field of republican candidates. Five republicans received enough signatures by filing time to get on the primary ballot, including Dan Coats, the man from whom Bayh won his senate seat in 1998.

The US Senate seat is not the only heated primary in Indiana. 4th district US Representative Steve Buyer, republican, announced that he would not be seeking reelection due to his wife’s illness. This lead current Secretary of State Todd Rokita to announce that he would seek the seat. He faces off against eight other republicans in the primary.

Then there is Indiana’s 9th district, a congressional race that has been very heated in recent elections. Incumbent Baron Hill, democrat, will face off against three other democrats in the primary. The republicans have four candidates in the primary, including Mike Sodrel, who took the seat from Hill in 2004, but lost to hill in 2006. Many factors could influence this race, including the possibility of Hill becoming the democrat nominee for senate, or possibly running for governor in 2012.
All of this puts Indiana very much in play for 2010.

After many years of reliable republican presidential votes, the state gave its electoral votes to Barack Obama in 2008. Bayh’s absence makes Indiana another state that is up for grabs in 2010.