Congress

Bayh’s Replacement

By Adam Sorensen | @adamsorensen | February 19, 2010 | +

Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth is stepping into the breach left by Evan Bayh’s surprise retirement and is expected to announce a Senate bid later today.

Widely viewed as a recruiting win for the DSCC, Ellsworth’s entrance into the race allows Democrats still reeling from the Indiana Senator’s high-profile withdrawal to breathe a little easier.

A decorated sheriff before winning his House seat representing the 8th district in 2006, Ellsworth won more than 60 percent of the vote in his two congressional campaigns to date. He is anti-abortion, a self-described “fiscal conservative” and a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, all likely advantages in purple Indiana. But he lacks overwhelming name recognition statewide and Republican frontrunner Dan Coats will likely try to make hay of his vote for the House’s health reform legislation last year.

Coats, as previously mentioned, is not without his own vulnerabilities. The former Senator faced a deluge of opposition research when word of candidacy first broke, and he only recently moved back to Indiana.

It is not yet clear whether Ellsworth will face Democratic competition for a spot on the ballot. The decision ultimately lies in the hands of state party officials because Bayh announced his retirement a day before the filing deadline and no one managed to rustle up enough signatures in time. Either way, his presence in the race is at least a small comfort to Democrats sweating November.

Related Topics: brad ellsworth, dan coats, evan bayh, indiana, 2012 Election, Congress

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  • allthingsinaname

    “self-described “fiscal conservative” and a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, all likely advantages in purple Indiana.”

    I am excited he should be helpful, real progress will be made there. I am thinking that he is really a Republican planted in the Democratic Party.

  • FlownOver

    Meh.

    Win or lose, we would consider this a lost seat if Bayh had been a Democrat worthy of the name. As it is, looks like we’ll trade a headache for an upset stomach. DSCC will have to do better if they want to up their fundraising.

  • stuartzechman

    Adam Sorensen:

    He is anti-abortion, a self-described “fiscal conservative” and a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition

    Thanks so very much for this quite accurate characterization of Ellsworth’s political philosophy, it’s much appreciated.

  • stuartzechman

    …oops, I forgot to graphically demonstrate my appreciation for the entirely appropriate scare quotes:

    He is anti-abortion, a self-described ” fiscal conservative “ and a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition

  • sechandler912

    Yay team

  • pafro

    In case you didn’t notice, Blue Dogs poll worse than pretty much anyone in Congress right now. The teabaggers aren’t tricked by them, and real Democrats think they are losers too. Why do you think that one turned Republican?
    They are the ultimate insiders–their whole shtick is based on kissing up to corporate lobbyists and Hoovering up money from the insurance and financial industries.
    The whole mood in the electorate is against insiders and finance industry suck-ups and towards “outsider” campaigns, no matter how fake they are. Having Republicans likely nominate an out-of-state lobbyist like Dan Coats was a gift to Democrats that could have been utlilized by nominating a real Democrat.
    Talk about a wasted opportunity.
    For Democrats to pin their hopes on a Blue dog in Indiana is a terrible misreading of the electorate and just shows how the corporate wing of Democrats have learned nothing about what is going on.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  • stuartzechman

    Adam Sorensen:
    .
    Is there any indication of the self-described “fiscal conservative” Ellsworth’s position on letting the Bush tax cuts expire?
    .
    Does he hold the same opinion as that of some of his centrist colleagues? (link to late Jan 2010 report fromr The Hill)

    Lawmaker predicts centrist Dems will support extension of Bush tax cuts
    .
    By Jordan Fabian – 01/23/10 03:45 PM ET

    A centrist Democratic lawmaker on Friday predicted that more of his colleagues will support an effort to extend the Bush tax cuts another two years.
    .
    Reps. Michael McMahon (D-N.Y.) and Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) circulated a letter to members of Congress on Friday asking for the extension for the tax cuts set to expire this year.
    .
    “I’m sure we will get support from others,” said McMahon on CNBC.
    .
    The proposal is also likely to pick up support from Republican-leaning business groups.

    If Ellsworth brings that kind of “fiscal conservatism” to the Senate, he should have very little trouble taking the place of the equally “fiscally conservative” Evan Bayh. Perhaps if Ellsworth gets enough “support from Republican-leaning business groups” during his campaign, we’ll find out for certain.
    .
    Does Ellsworth support or oppose the extension of the Bush tax cuts, Adam Sorensen?

  • kryptik1

    So….meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

    I find myself horribly unenthused about this particular election regardless of the outcome. It feels like a lost cause for any respectably liberal person anyway.

  • destor23

    Go John Mellencamp!

  • square1

    Widely viewed as a recruiting win for the DSCC, Ellsworth’s entrance into the race allows Democrats still reeling from the Indiana Senator’s high-profile withdrawal to breathe a little easier.

    Yes, all the Blue Dogs just breathed a huge sigh of relief. Because neither Bayh nor the rest of the Indiana Blue Dogs had any inkling that he would retire and — thank the heavens! — a Blue Dog appeared out of nowhere to save them from their predicament.

    Are reporters this stupid or do they just think that we are?

  • acameronw

    I grew up in Indiana and still have a lot of family and friends there. Whatever Ellsworth’s flaws might be (at least in the eyes of progressives outside the state) only a Blue Dog Democrat has a prayer of succeeding Bayh. And how could any Democrat be more of a letdown than Evan Bayh? (You know the joke: “Look up the word ‘gutless’ in the dictionary…”) Where Ellsworth’s campaign might be interesting is in Sorenson’s remark Coat’s “making hay” about Ellsworth’s health care vote. If Ellsworth has the sense to defend his vote, explaining the benefits of the bill to Indiana voters against the Republican’s multiple distortions perhaps he can demonstrate a way forward for other Dems on the bill.

  • afguy

    OhhOhhOhhOhh, let me take this one…
    .
    Both of the above?

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