Bad News For GOP: Democrat Evan Bayh Could Flip The Senate As He Leads Indiana Poll

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Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:03 pm

Republicans got even more bad news as a new poll of Indiana revealed that Democrat Evan Bayh is leading in the race for a Senate seat that Republicans thought would stay in their column.

According to Monmouth University:

Turning to the race to succeed retiring Republican U.S. Senator Dan Coats, former senator Bayh holds a 48% to 41% lead over Congressman Todd Young. Libertarian Lucy Brenton garners 4% of the vote and 7% are undecided. While 76% of Trump supporters are backing Young, 16% say they will split their ticket and vote for Bayh. Among Clinton supporters, 89% will vote for Bayh and just 3% will split their ticket for Young.

….

Nearly half of Indiana voters (46%) have a favorable view of Bayh, and just 19% have an unfavorable view, with 35% expressing no opinion. Young is not as well-known, with a rating of 29% favorable and 15% unfavorable while 55% register no opinion of him.

There have been some questions about Bayh’s last-minute decision to run for his old Senate seat. Indiana voters are more likely to see this move as Bayh just wanting to get back into politics (42%) rather than a desire to serve the public (31%). Another 4% see it as both motivations equally, and 23% have no opinion.

If Bayh secures a return to the Senate, Democrats would be only seat short of a return to the majority if they get expected wins in Illinois and Wisconsin along with Indiana.

A Bayh victory and a Clinton White House win would mean that Democrats would have a wide variety of options for taking back the Senate. A win in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Arizona, or Florida would be enough combined with holding to the Senate seat in Nevada to end Mitch McConnell’s time as Senate Majority Leader.

The Democratic position to retake the Senate is getting even stronger with Evan Bayh leading in the Indiana Senate race.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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