IN-SEN: Bayh reportedly in.

[Brittain33]

Looks like retiring before the 2010 election with a very big campaign account intact was a smart thing to do.

[Brewer]

Ick. Evan Bayh is grimy, but a grimy Democrat > modern-day Republican.

[Xing]

Far from my favorite Democrat, but this definitely changes things. Similar to Rubio re-entering in FL, I wouldn't move this further than Toss-Up, and I might still rate it Lean R (it's been a while since Bayh's run, and this makes it clear he just chickened out of running in 2010 because he thought he would lose), but it gives Democrats a fighting chance here.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Interesting. Not prepared to say Toss-Up - I'll simply say tilt Republican until we know that a) his skills haven't atrophied and b) how he will react to the accusations that he has become a lobbyist or whatever.

[Free Bird]

Ick. Evan Bayh is grimy, but a grimy Democrat > modern-day Republican.

You can't seriously be that partisan

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Ick. Evan Bayh is grimy, but a grimy Democrat > modern-day Republican.

You can't seriously be that partisan

Why not? Seems like the most logical thing to be is a partisan, rather than swing voters who change their votes because one candidate has a nicer haircut.

[Holmes]

Better than Hill.

[Heisenberg]

Oh wow. I woke up this morning to this. Still Tilt R at the moment. This is exactly why it was great for Young to win the primary. Stutzman was polling within the MoE against Hill, he'd be trailing Bayh. Now the NRSC may have to divert resources into this race, but Young still has an edge. Just bring up some of Bayh's Senate votes, discuss majority, and that helps.

P.S. The primaries were two months ago. How was Bayh legally allowed to jump in?

[smoltchanov]

Ick. Evan Bayh is grimy, but a grimy Democrat > modern-day Republican.

You can't seriously be that partisan

Regretfully, but it's mostly true. With many of last sane Republicans (like Gibson and Hanna, and Faso and Tenney being absolutely no adequate replacement for them) retiring i can name only few remaining. And that's despite my role model in politics being Republican (former Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland)....

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Oh wow. I woke up this morning to this. Still Tilt R at the moment. This is exactly why it was great for Young to win the primary. Stutzman was polling within the MoE against Hill, he'd be trailing Bayh. Now the NRSC may have to divert resources into this race, but Young still has an edge. Just bring up some of Bayh's Senate votes, discuss majority, and that helps.

P.S. The primaries were two months ago. How was Bayh legally allowed to jump in?

Same reason Pence can be VP and get replaced on the ballot. State law allows the candidates and the parties to switch nominees until July 15.

[Heisenberg]

Oh wow. I woke up this morning to this. Still Tilt R at the moment. This is exactly why it was great for Young to win the primary. Stutzman was polling within the MoE against Hill, he'd be trailing Bayh. Now the NRSC may have to divert resources into this race, but Young still has an edge. Just bring up some of Bayh's Senate votes, discuss majority, and that helps.

P.S. The primaries were two months ago. How was Bayh legally allowed to jump in?

Same reason Pence can be VP and get replaced on the ballot. State law allows the candidates and the parties to switch nominees until July 15.

Thanks for explaining, I didn't know.

[Skye]

Wow. Totally unexpected. Tossup now.

2016 truly is the best year in politics.

[Brewer]

Ick. Evan Bayh is grimy, but a grimy Democrat > modern-day Republican.

You can't seriously be that partisan

I seriously can.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Endorsed! (As much as I want to vote for a BARRON!)

[Heisenberg]

Cook also followed Sabato's lead and changed the rating to tossup. Rothenberg-Gonzales even changed it to Tossup/Tilt Democratic. Funny how a few nights ago I found out that Bayh still has a $10 million war chest. I was wondering what he would do with it.

[Ebsy]

No way he would jump in unless his internals showed him winning.

[Mike Thick]

I think Bayh actually starts out narrowly favored. Perhaps even more than just narrowly.

[Blair]

Okay Bayh is one of those people who's got worse since he left the Senate, but if he's the difference between Senate Majority Leader McConnel or Schumer it's not a hard choice

[heatcharger]

Ugh. I thought the one good thing about 2010 was that the Blue Dogs and DINOs got extinguished, Bayh included.

If this makes a Senate majority more likely then I'll bite the bullet, but if he's gonna return to his old ways then just count him as a Republican.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Huh.  Reverse FL situation for the Democrats, it looks like.

Barry's gotta be pissed.

[ElectionsGuy]

Wait... Didn't the primary already happen? How is this possible?

What the actual  is happening.

[Virginiá]

If this makes a Senate majority more likely then I'll bite the bullet, but if he's gonna return to his old ways then just count him as a Republican.

His voting record can't be worse than Young's (or any other IN Republican), from the perspective of a Democratic/liberal voter. If he votes party line a decent bit, which is likely, then I don't see the issue here. He will support Democratic policies. I'll tell you what though, he will support more liberal policies than virtually all other Republicans will. That should be enough right now. Democrats need all the support they can get to weather the possible great storm of 2018.

[Santander]

Okay, I'll stop calling the Democratic Party the Communist Party for at least a week now.

[Heisenberg]

Wait... Didn't the primary already happen? How is this possible?

What the actual  is happening.

Look a few posts above, I asked the same question. Basically, until July 15, Indiana legally allows parties to change their nominee.

[Vosem]

This is a guy who has never fallen below 61% in a statewide race with a golden last name and $10 million in the bank. This should be at Leans D now, and that's a conservative estimate.

Evan Bayh, in my view, is exactly what the left-wing opposition in America should be like...I'd love to see him return to the Senate, but it would be a real shame if it was at the expense of the Senate majority. I'd still vote Young, obviously, but I'd love to see Bayh back as long as McConnell was still Majority Leader.