Didn’t see this coming. Evan Bayh won’t run for re-election.
In prepared remarks, Bayh, 54, cited excessive partisanship that makes progress on public policy difficult to achieve as the motivation for his decision.
. . .
“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so in Congress has waned,” he said.
Thanks for the fair warning. I wonder what this does for the state Democrats’ ability to get a replacement candidate up and running. It will also be interesting to see if he cashes in with some big lobbying money.
Update A couple of thoughts – 1) What is the process for getting a candidate on the general election ballot if no one makes the primary? Nomination at the State Convention? If the state party machinery controls the general election candidate, I’d think that would increase the chances of Evan Bayh attempting to select his own successor. At the moment, it looks like there is a Tamyra d’Ippolito who is at least trying to gather signatures. I believe February 19, 2010 is the deadline.
2) I don’t know if he could win a state wide general election or if he’s even interested, but I’d certainly be content with Joe Kernan as a Senator.
Wow. Now my Republican friends will say that he got scared of Coats.
Tammy D’Ipolito (sp?) is running in the primary as a Democrat. She’s a restaurant owner from Bloomington who ran the campaign of the lady who primaried Baron Hill in 08. She’s a progressive activist and probably too liberal for the INDEMS folks.
I wonder what the GOP has on Bayh that forced him out?
though i don’t begrudge him taking the opportunity to retire, it would’ve been nice if he hadn’t waited until the day before the filing deadline to announce.
I wonder what Coats knew? His timing is perfect. I also wonder how long before the “Bayh for Governor” rumors start up.
Two things to look at with this annoucement. The late timing of it suggests he was persuaded not to run by some type of information he did not want to get out; but on the other side if you look at the statement, his desire to serve in Congress has diminished, not his desire to run or serve as Governor.
As Joh mentioned above, Tamyra D’Ippolito has been trying to get signatures to get on the ballot. Does anyone know if she has been successful? If not, Bayh has really screwed the Democrats – again.
http://tamyraforsenate.com/
hmm… despite what the folks on twitter seem to think, apparently the filing deadline is actually the 19th (friday). still, my overall point stands.
At least Senator Bayh was nice enough to spell out what kind of job he was looking for next. I wonder if Mrs. Bayh will be retiring soon as well?
Very surprising, and I doubt that excessive partisanship is the real reason for Bayh retiring. I hope that there is not any serious illness or family situation for him.
I do wonder if he felt that his re-election was not a given, whether due to Coats running or someone else.
Yeah, shocking is the word. Who could have suspected that Evan Bayh had things he was trying to accomplish in Washington?
And partisan rancor? Partisan rancor is the only reason anybody outside Evansville knew who The Great Equivocator was.
The timing of Bayh’s decision is terrible.
No, Pila, not from the Senator’s point of view. Why? Because he has almost guaranteed that no one can get on the ballot by signature, while leaving a tantalizing amount of time for desperate attempts.
And, just who gets to lead the committee in picking the eventual candidate in August after no one gets the nomination by signatures or slating? Why, none other than Senator Bayh’s campaign manager, and Indiana State Democratic Party Chairperson, Mr. Dan Parker.
What an end around the whole process, allowing Senator Bayh and Chairman Parker to dole out the candidacy to whomever they “like” best. Doesn’t like the partisanship anymore. Hah!
I’d like to nominate him for executive jackass of the year!
This could actually be a good move for the Democratic Party in Indiana. While the Repubs have three or four candidates vying for the spot in the May primary, they won’t know who their opponent will be, making the selection process a little more tricky. This will allow the Dems to choose a candidate after assessing the results who can best play against the Republican nominee’s weaknesses. May be a good way to bring some new blood into the Democratic Party in Indiana for the future of the party.
Having said that, I’d like to throw two names out there, either of whom I’d love to see make a run at the Senate seat. Kathy Davis, former Lt. Governor under Joe Kernan, and current 7th District Rep., Andre Carson.
My antipathy toward Kathy Davis comes from one experience and probably shouldn’t overwhelm any positive qualifications she might have. But, when I was at LSA, I was counsel for a summer study committee on Autism. I was tasked with getting her, as head of FSSA, to come talk to the legislators about something having to do with Medicaid and Autism. She was utterly unresponsive, notwithstanding many calls, a few letters, and all the buzzwords I could think of – Senators, attorney, Legislative Services, General Assembly, etc.
Given that response, I couldn’t imagine the difficulty people who actually needed FSSA services might have getting the agency to respond.
@varianguard: Yeah, I understand that, but it is terrible if a Democrat wanted to run and now doesn’t have time to get on the ballot. Bayh can then handpick his potential successor, which I definitely don’t want.
If you would like to let the members of the State Central Committee know your thoughts on who should be selected as our candidate for U.S. Senate, here is the contact information:
http://www.indems.org/content/committee
Me, I’m a liberal and would love to see Andre Carson as our candidate but, as I’m often reminded, we liberals can’t get elected statewide in this state. :( We’re not even supposed to try, apparently. My second choice is Baron Hill. I’ve only lived in Indiana for three years so I don’t know much about Joe Kernan. Will hold off on any decision of him until I know more. I am inclined not to vote for Brad Ellsworth, who seems to be winning the early whisper caucus.
@stallio The date is noon the 16th, not the 19th. The 19th is the filing deadline for all offices, but the signature deadline is a different date. He announced 22 hours before the deadline.
Tamyra D’Ippolito is indeed trying to get enough signatures, but it doesn’t seem likely – though, I hear some Republicans are trying to push to support her because they think they can crush her.
If no one makes the signature deadline, then the choice will be made by the Indiana Democratic Party State Central Committee. The SCC is the governing body of the state party, which is chaired by Dan Parker. The SCC is made up of party loyalists from the 9 congressional districts, plus some caucus groups as approved by the chair. The caucus groups (which is currently the African-American caucus, the Young Democrats caucus, and the Indiana Stonewall Democrats (LGBT) caucus – and I think the Latino caucus may have just joined too) do not get to vote in this regard. Caucus votes only count toward procedural matters due to party rules.
I’m guessing they’ll pick someone with big name appeal and the ability to raise money quickly. Ellsworth has that potential, as do Kernan, Hill, and possibly Donnelly.
I think Carson would have a hard time finding wide support outside the 7th, even though I like him alot.
I agree with one part of Bayh’s speech, non-ideological people do tend to make better executives than legislators. I liked Bayh alot more as Governor than Senator. Even Mitch had potential as a rather non-ideological executive, he just turned out to be as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
Interesting article on Fire Dog Lake, where D’Ipollito expresses suspicion about the lack of help she is getting from Democratic Party county chairs in the 8th District. http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/02/15/tamyra-dippolito-politics-in-indiana-is-the-old-boys-school/
I find her comments about sexism most interesting.
Knowing the democrats, they will pick someone just like the last person they ran for governor, some woman I cannot remember her name. Carson should stay in his seat.
Bayh is either afraid of some revelation or is positioning a run for president in 2012.
Will the gov enter the race? Or wait until 2012 to run for prez.
Damned democrats are self destructing in front of our eyes.
We have no statewide democrats with name recognition worth voting for.
Mitch, Bayh, Pence, Palin, in 2012? Lord help us!
Kernan is out, not interested, according to Indianapolis Times blog. As is the mayor of Evansville. So there they seem to think Ellsworth is looking at it. I don’t think d’Ippolito will have the signatures by noon tomorrow. Someone told me Channel 6 WRTV was saying Bart Peterson is not interested.
If I could name it. Ann Delaney. Assuming she would do it. Lord knows she is not afraid to promote a ‘Democratic’ position and defend it. She would mop up with Coats or anyone in a debate. I think she has some state wide recognition already from her run for Lt. Governor and previous party spokesperson work.
I choose you Doug. You should run. :)