Indiana Senate: Democrats Face Tuesday Deadline To Get A Candidate On The Primary Ballot

The abrupt retirement of Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) from the Senate leaves Democrats with roughly 24 hours to get a replacement candidate on the primary ballot in Indiana.

According to forms on the Indiana Secretary of State's website, in order to file a declaration of candidacy, a candidate must submit a petition of nomination signed by at least 4,500 registered voters of the state, including at least 500 registered voters from each of Indiana's nine congressional districts.

Each form must include: "(a) signature of each petitioner, (b) name of each petitioner printed legibly, and (c) residence mailing address of each petitioner," according to the candidate guide.

If any one of those elements is lacking, the signature can be challenged, meaning petitioners will have to spread across the state and gather many signatures over the minimum.

The deadline is noon on Tuesday and, for a major political party, is possible to meet.

If they fail, however, the state Democratic party can still get a candidate on the ballot. State rules allow the "state committee" to fill a vacancy before June 30.

The dual deadlines essentially give the state party the power to choose the candidate, rather than voters in a primary.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/indiana-senate-democrats_n_462655.html

Did he do this on purpose?

That says possible scandal....or a big money job offered at the last minute.

This makes no sense. Bayh was actively campaigning and soliciting funds just last week. His people were responsible for many press stories attacking Dan Coats just last week as well. It will be interesting to find out through the IN Dem grapevine what the hell is going on.

This must have been in the works for some time, with the timing of the announcement orchestrated to allow the state party to choose the candidate. If Bayh had dropped out even a week or two sooner, it would have set off a mad scramble among several Dems to succeed him.

This way, the state party stays in control, something they very much like.

It also may work to the D's benefit in the long run. The state party will choose a popular centrist like Brad Ellsworth or Baron Hill, who will be hard for Dan Coats to beat.

Meanwhile, if Bayh does succeed Tauzin as head of Pharma, the timing of that vacancy may have more to do with the Indiana filing deadline than Tauzin.

This makes sense ...

...that now they know the Republican field. Coats' entry into the race has upset Governor Mitch as well as the other candidates who've been working the field for a year. Not to mention all the bad publicity his campaign is getting for lobbying ties to Hugo Chavez, Yemen and Bank of America. If he gets the nomination, he's way vulnerable to attack as a Washington insider, something the Dems couldn't do if Bayh was running. If someone other than Coats gets the nomination, the Dems are money ahead still.

So really, the Republicans are in disarray while the Democrats may just have figured out the BEST POSSIBLE way to hold this seat knowing that Bayh wanted out.

Preliminary KUDOS to our side. Things are rarely as they seem on the surface.

He waited until the 11th hour to say he's not running with no time to get anyone else on the ballot unless the party picks the candidate? I think he did do this on purpose. The timing can't possibly be just a coincidence. Screw him.

Just trying to connect some dots...I am not surprised by his anouncement..After all he is a Blue Dog....

...it does seem it could bring advantages. There are more popular Democrats in Indiana at the moment, and there won't have to a primary now.

“To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills,”
-Obama