Republicans didn’t seem to realize that Evan Bayh presented an attractive target until they pulled off their recent upset win in Massachusetts, but time is running out if they hope to find a more compelling name on the ballot than nutty ex-Rep. John Hostettler. With Mike Pence out of contention (and the rest of the state’s GOP House delegation being either deadwood or fuggin’ goofballs), it looks like Secretary of State Todd Rokita is next in the pecking order. And he’s considering it:
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita (R) said Wednesday he is weighing a challenge to Sen. Evan Bayh (D).
“I continue to receive a lot of encouraging phone calls and emails from a diverse group of people,” Rokita said in a statement. “I certainly share Hoosiers’ concerns that we need real leadership in Washington – leadership that we simply aren’t getting today.”
Rokita’s statement also said he and his wife are preparing for the birth of their second son and that “we still think and pray about how we can best serve Indiana in the future – this great state that we love.”
He will have to make a decision quickly. The candidate filing deadline is Feb. 19, and Rokita would have to file a nomination petition signed by 4,500 registered voters, with at least 500 registered voters in each of the state’s nine Congressional districts.
The petitions are nothing — any halfway competent local organization could muster up 500 sigs per CD at the snap of its fingers, and I’m sure a statewide pol like Rokita could call in the chits needed to make it happen with ease. But Rokita will need to make up his mind quickly, lest the GOP be scrambling at the 11th hour to settle on a Plan C. (And you can bet that Hostettler has gotta be Plan Z.)
RaceTracker Wiki: IN-Sen
so well-known even to political geeks like me. Any information about his political views? I suupose – conservative (as almost all Republican candidates from Indiana are), but “which conservative”? Lugar’s type is one thing, Hostettler’s or Pence’s style – quite another.
This could end up being a huge problem if he runs and it’s a tight race. Bayh never needs help from the committees so if we need to spend money to save him that is going to kill us elsewhere.