Bye, Bye, Bayh? Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh won't seek a third term
That's a jolt. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (D) will announce Monday he won't be seeking a third term.
The news sent the left-leaning side of the Web into shock. "Holy Crap," reads the headline of the Editors Blog on the Talking Points Memo website.
Senator Bayh, according to the Indianapolis Star, will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Monday to discuss his decision.
Too partisan?
Why leave when at least one poll showed the two-term senator comfortably ahead of GOP challengers and the Cook Report listed his upcoming race as leaning in his direction?
Washington has become too partisan.
That's apparently what he'll say. The Star has a copy of his prepared remarks in which he cites a couple of examples that, perhaps, were his personal tipping points.
“Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted ‘no’ for short-term political reasons,” he said. “Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs – the public’s top priority – fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right. All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state and our nation than continued service in Congress.”
Hmmm....
To say the least, the news is unexpected. No money problems for Bayh. Some $13 million in the can and prospects were good.
The story's really young and at least one pundit is skeptical.
"What seems very odd about this is that Bayh and his political team were making active preparations for a run as recently as mid-late last week," Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall writes. "And not just the kind of public, optics stuff that you need to be sure to do to keep your options open. We're looking into it."
--------
Follow us on Twitter.
