Republicans are looking to brand former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh as a “wealthy lobbyist from Washington” amid news of his comeback to Indiana politics.
The former U.S. senator and governor from the Hoosier state is looking to return to the Senate, CNN first reported. The campaign of Indiana congressman Todd Young, the GOP Senate candidate, wasted little time trashing Bayh.
“After he cast the deciding vote for Obamacare, Evan Bayh left Indiana families to fend for themselves so he could cash in with insurance companies and influence peddlers as a gold-plated lobbyist,” said Trevor Foughty, Young’s campaign manager, in a statement. “This seat isn’t the birthright of a wealthy lobbyist from Washington. It belongs to the people of Indiana.”
The attempt to paint Bayh as a Democratic lobbyist parachuting back into Indiana to save the day was bolstered by other Republicans looking to keep Indiana from turning completely blue in 2016. National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Ward Baker said the Democrats’ “bait-and-switch maneuver” to insert Bayh is a sign of desperation.
“Hoosiers will have a very clear choice in November,” Baker said in a statement. “Todd Young is a Marine who has fought to protect Indiana values, create jobs and stood up against dangerous policies like Obamacare, and cap-and-trade Evan Bayh is a lobbyist who backed the Obama agenda 96 percent of the time as he left the Senate in 2010, knowing he couldn’t win re-election thanks to his support for the toxic Democrat agenda.
“His support for Obama’s job-killing policies disqualifies him from the opportunity to represent Indiana again.”
Young led Baron Hill, his previous Democratic opponent, by 18 percentage points in early polling of the Senate race, 48-30. Bayh has high name-recognition in the Hoosier State, and has experience winning statewide campaigns for governor and senator.
The Young-Bayh contest could determine the balance of power in the Senate as one of several crucial Midwestern Senate elections that could become hotly contested this fall.
