Cook Political: Bayh Moves Race to Toss Up

Hill had been running a lackluster campaign. He has not had much of a presence on the campaign trail and only managed to build a war chest of $387,419 as of the April 13 pre-primary report. While Indiana is generally a red state, an open seat in a presidential year as unpredictable as this one was a more than reasonable target for Democrats, but Hill acted like a place holder. Ironically, he proved to be exactly that.

Bayh, on the other hand, is a well known entity in the state. He was Secretary of State from 1986 to 1988 when he was elected Governor, a position he held for two terms. In 1998, he was elected to the U.S. Senate with 64 percent of the vote to occupy the seat his father, Birch Bayh, held from 1962 to 1980. The younger Bayh retired from the Senate in 2010.

Having started to lay the groundwork for an aborted presidential bid in 2008, Bayh retains a very healthy war chest. As of March 31, he had an enviable $9.3 million in the bank. there will be no time spent by Bayh's camp catching up to U.S. Rep Todd Young, the GOP nominee.

Since leaving the Senate, Bayh has remained in Washington, becoming a partner for the lobbying firm McGuireWoods. He also serves on several corporate boards of directors.

As Governor and in the Senate, Bayh compiled a relatively moderate record. He served as chairman of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. While this may not please progressive Democrats in the state, it should prove appealing to more establishment Democrats and independents. This doesn't leave Republicans a lot with which to work.

A race that was shaping up to be an easy retention for Republicans has now become one that will be extremely competitive and moves to the Toss Up column.


http://cookpolitical.com/story/9749