In 2018, Representative Joe Kennedy III, scion of that American political dynasty, was the Democratic responder to Donald Trump's first State of the Union address. He was young, attractive, and a likely presidential prospect for 2028 or 2032. But two years later, ignoring the advice of many supporters, he chose to run against sitting Senator Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Democratic primary. He lost, and lost decisively, 44.6% to 55.4%. Since then, he's been largely out of the news. He may still have presidential ambitions, but the pundits haven't been kind to him.
Here in Indiana, we have our own Democratic political dynasty: the Bayh family, with a new heir ready to follow in his father's footsteps: Birch Evans "Beau" Bayh IV is running for Indiana Secretary of State, a position often used as a stepping stone to the governor's mansion. When he announced his candidacy last October, he seemed confident he would glide to victory in the same way his father did in 1986. The current Republican Secretary of State, Diego Morales, has been embroiled in scandal from the start. Even people who routinely mark a straight Republican ballot (and there are a lot of them in the Hoosier State) may make an exception this November. But Beau has one big hurdle to clear before he gets the Democratic nomination: the 2026 Democratic state convention. But first, let's look at the Bayh dynasty.
Beau's grandfather, Birch Evans Bayh, Jr, son of Indiana State University basketball coach Birch Evans Bayh, Sr, began the dynasty in 1954, when he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives at the age of 26 and later became the youngest Speaker in Indiana history. In 1962, he was elected to the Senate, defeating three-term Republican Homer E. Capehart. Birch went on to serve three terms himself, and during that time he authored two Constitutional amendments: the 25th, clarifying presidential succession, and the 26th, lowering the age limit for voting to 18. (Wikipedia: "Birch Bayh") And he was a liberal in the tradition of the Kennedy brothers. In fact, he may well have saved Edward Kennedy's life after a plane crash in 1964.
Birch made a brief run for the presidency in 1976, but after coming in third (after Uncommitted and Jimmy Carter), third in the New Hampshire primary, and seventh in Massachusetts, he withdrew from the race and endorsed Carter. His Senate career ended in 1980, when Dan Quayle rode in on Ronald Reagan's coattails.
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III got his start in Indiana politics after being elected Secretary of State in 1986. Two years later, he ran for governor, defeating Republican lieutenant governor John Mutz. Evan's politics were more conservative than his father's, especially after he was elected to the Senate in 1998. Incumbent Republican Senator Dan Coats decided not to run for reelection after Evan announced he was in the race. Evan won against Republican Paul Helmke.
Until 2002, Evan seemed like your typical pragmatic Midwestern Democrat. From 2001 to 2005, he served as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. In 2002, he enthusiastically backed the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War. Yes, the likes of John Kerry and Tom Harkin voted "Yea" on the resolution, but not with the vigor of Bayh. Still, he was a Democrat and usually voted with his caucus.
In 2006, it was clear that Evan wanted bigger and better things: On December 3, he confirmed he had launched a presidential exploratory committee. By December 15, he announced he would not be a presidential candidate and endorsed Hillary Clinton. When it was clear that Barack Obama would win the 2008 nomination, Evan was in contention for the vice presidential nomination--or at least he thought he was. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said it was a "coin toss" between Evan Bayh and Joe Biden, with then-Virginia governor Tim Kaine also in consideration (The Indianapolis Star, November 1, 2009, p B3). My suspicion is that Bayh was never a serious candidate. Republican Mitch Daniels was governor of Indiana and was likely to win a second term, which he did. Bayh would have to resign his Senate seat if elected vice president, and Daniels would appoint a Republican in his place. Biden also had extensive foreign policy experience, which Bayh (and Obama) did not.
Still, though Evan was disappointed he hadn't risen to greater heights, we Hoosier Democrats expected him to run for a third Senate term in 2010. He had given no indication he wouldn't run until his surprise announcement on February 15, 2010. It was one day before the filing deadline and far too close to Election Day to allow another Democrat to build a campaign. He said he "became convinced that, although on a smaller scale, there were better ways to make a contribution to the welfare of our state and country than to continue service in Congress." (Indianapolis Star, February 16, 2010, p A1) The state Democratic Party named Congressman Brad Ellsworth as the candidate, while Dan Coats won the Republican primary to retake his old seat. The result was predictable: Ellsworth was from southwest Indiana and did not have time to make himself known statewide. He lost to Coats, carrying only the most heavily Democratic counties.
Evan's "better ways to make a contribution to the welfare of our state and country" included becoming a partner in the McGuireWoods law firm, a senior adviser with Marc Rowan's Apollo Global Management, and a messaging adviser to the United States Chamber of Commerce. From March 2011 to July 2016, he was a part-time contributor to Fox News (Wikipedia, "Evan Bayh").
In 2016, at the request of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Evan agreed to run for his old Senate seat in July 2016, replacing Democratic candidate Baron Hill, who graciously withdrew from the race. It didn't pan out. Republican candidate Donald Trump, with the help of his Hoosier running mate, Governor Mike Pence, won Indiana in a landslide, taking Republican Senatorial candidate Todd Young with him. Evan outpolled Clinton, but Young still won with 52% of the vote.
In 2016, Evan also joined the No Labels party as national co-chair. No Labels is a dark money-funded organization. It's supposedly working for bipartisan consensus, but many of us have our doubts. Inequality.org writes: "For years, the group No Labels and its close partner, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, have quietly promoted policies that are wrapped in the mantle of bipartisanship and pitched as “non-ideological,” while being in the pay of corporate interests. They produce reports, sponsor events, and weigh in on policy on behalf of unnamed corporate donors."
Evan recently made a rather innocuous statement on behalf of No Labels last Veterans Day, in which he mentioned his son, Birch Evans "Beau" Bayh IV and his race for Indiana Secretary of State.
Beau was born November 9, 1995, along with his twin brother Nicholas, while their father was governor, but they grew up in Washington, DC, attending St. Alban's Academy, an elite Episcopal preparatory school. Both went on to Harvard, and both served in the military. Beau, according to his campaign website, joined the "United States Marine Corps. He served as an Infantry Officer, where he rose to the rank of Captain...
"Following his honorable discharge in 2023, Beau earned a law degree. While in law school, he worked for Cummins Engines and Barnes & Thornburg LLP, both in Indianapolis. Following graduation, he served as a Judicial Law Clerk in Bloomington for the Honorable David F. Hamilton on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit."
(Note: His twin brother majored in business and is now a strategic football analyst for the Indianapolis Colts.)
Which brings us to the hurdle Beau has to clear. In Indiana, the Secretary of State is an elective office, but the candidates are nominated not in the primary, but by the state convention. The state convention is going to be packed with committed Democrats, most all of whom loathe Donald Trump and Trumpism. And that could be a problem for Beau. He has an opponent, massage therapist and military veteran Blythe Potter of Bargersville. Potter has run for both town council and Johnson County council and lost both times, but she's in an extremely Republican area--the last time the county voted for a Democratic presidential candidate was in 1948. In a normal year, she'd be swept away in a landslide for Beau. But this isn't a normal year, and Beau hasn't done much to reassure Hoosier Democrats he's on their side
As Potter and her allies have pointed out, Beau Bayh has accepted large donations from Trump-affiliated individuals and political action committees, including a $25,000 gift from Apollo Global Management CEO (and Evan's employer) Marc Rowan, who gave a million dollars to Trump's 2020 campaign and over $3 million to Republican causes and candidates in the first half of 2025. Rowan even shows up in the Epstein Files. And while there's nothing to connect him with Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking and exploitation of young women and girls, Rowan was in contact with Epstein as late as 2016, when he had breakfast at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. I, along with many other Hoosier Democrats, have urged him to return the $25,000. He doesn't need it. His campaign is loaded. Yet he refuses to respond to pleas to return the money, at least as of this writing.
Perhaps he doesn't have to. Perhaps the convention delegates will be so relieved to have a Bayh on the ticket that they'll nominate him even if he doesn't return the money. But I've seen a lot of angry posts on social media from people who won't vote for Beau even if he should return the tainted money." And quite a few of those people are going to be in Indianapolis for the convention.
I may or may not be at the convention. I've filed as a candidate, but in my county, Elkhart, there are 41 delegate slots and 61 people who filed papers to be delegates. If the official listing for the delegate slots remains alphabetical, I'll be toward the end of the list, which means that I'm at a distinct disadvantage. Too many voters, looking at the list in on the ballot, will be tempted to vote for the first 41. As for being on a list endorsed by Bayh or Potter, I doubt I'll be on one because I'm not yet committed to Bayh or Potter. But if I am a delegate, I'll vote for Beau Bayh if he returns that $25,000 from Rowan. Otherwise, I'll probably vote for Blythe Potter, if only to cast a protest vote. I'll vote for the Democratic candidate in the November.
No comments:
Post a Comment