Some big news out of Indiana today:
Democrat Baron Hill is dropping out of the Indiana Senate race and will be replaced as the Democratic nominee by former Sen. Evan Bayh, upending the race in a state Republicans expected to hold easily this fall.
Bayh, who is also a former governor of Indiana, still has approximately $9.3 million in a federal campaign account that has sat nearly dormant since he left the Senate in 2010. GOP Sen. Dan Coats won the seat that year but is retiring this fall.
Hill, a former House member, was preparing to face GOP Rep. Todd Young in the general election.
This section of TPM’s article describes my mixed feelings about Bayh returning to the the Senate:
Bayh suddenly left the Senate race in 2010 after winning the nomination. When he decided to leave, the senator criticized Senate gridlock and inaction and called for significant reform and better relationships across the aisle in a New York Times editorial.
Democrats have been heavily recruiting Bayh to run for the seat, in part because he had $10 million in a campaign account when he retired, according to CNN. Bayh currently works for the lobbying firm McGuire Woods and serves on the board of several companies.
But Bayh’s announcement didn’t take long to put this seat back in the Toss Up column:
We have another race to watch closely. Stay tuned.