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Candidate Profile from Congressional QuarterlyEvan Bayh (D) of IndianapolisOpen Seat
Bayh's path to the Senate was easier than most. Both family history ÷ his father, Birch, held this seat for three terms ÷ and eight successful years as governor helped propel him to the seat opened by the retirement of Republican Daniel R. Coats. During his tenure in Washington, Bayh no doubt will try to replicate the strategy that helped him leave the governorship in 1997 with a 79 percent approval rating. Having cast himself as a fiscal conservative, Bayh often sounds more like a Republican than a Democrat. He talks of cutting taxes, balancing the budget and slashing government spending. His campaign literature asserts that his two terms as governor marked the state's first eight-year period in 40 years without a tax increase. Yet his campaign platform also embraced the ideals of "good jobs at good wages," smaller class sizes and President Clinton's oft-repeated pledge of "saving Social Security first." Patients' rights legislation may be a top priority, since his campaign platform called for giving doctors, rather than insurance companies, a greater role in deciding the course of medical treatment. In addition, Bayh backs placing more police on the streets, tougher penalties for selling drugs to children and no parole for those who commit sexual crimes against children. While governor, Bayh completed construction of two facilities that added 4,000 men's prison beds. In the campaign, Bayh ran television spots touting himself as a fiscal conservative willing to take on the Washington establishment. The spots did not mention that Bayh was a Democrat but criticized both Democrats and Republicans in Washington for trying to increase spending. In addition to his father's legacy, Bayh has many gifts to exploit. Now just 42, he has already been touted as a potential vice-presidential candidate in 2000. At Clinton's request, he was keynote speaker at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. He also is the father of twin 3-year-old boys. Bayh's Washington ambitions may seem a bit overreaching for a freshman senator, but his resume suggests an overachiever: at 32, he became the first Democrat elected Indiana's governor in 20 years. Bayh takes credit for enacting the largest tax cut in state history, piling up a $2 billion budget surplus and reducing the welfare rolls. Perhaps the best sign that Bayh may fare well in Washington is his recognition that bipartisanship is the key to getting things done. "It's the people in the middle who are willing to work things through," Bayh told the Associated Press in October. |
