What Was Evan Bayh Thinking?
Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision not to seek re-election this year is causing consternation both on Capitol Hill and in Indianapolis. In Washington, Democrats are facing the discomfiting realization that after owning the biggest Senate majority in a generation, they could lose it to Republicans in the fall. The GOP would have to net 10 seats in the upcoming election, and Politico says 10 (including Bayh’s) are in play. In the Hoosier State, the Democratic party is suddenly scrambling for a candidate in the midst of what TPM calls a “seismic shift in the Indiana political landscape.” The timing of Bayh’s announcement will probably prevent the party from holding a primary (signatures are due in less than a week), but Bayh told Indiana Democrats to look at his surprise announcement as a good thing. If the state Democratic party ends up selecting a candidate without a traditional primary, a crowded field of Republican candidates would be forced to “attack each other on their own, with no Democrat
