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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

BREAKING: Mike Pence Will Not Run for Senate

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  January 26th, 2010 at 11:11 AM  | 

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Sources are confirming for me this morning that Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) will not run for the United States Senate.

In fact, later today the Congressman will send out a letter to supporters outlining his reasons. In it he will write:

First because I have been given the responsibility to shape the Republican comeback as a member of the House Republican Leadership and, second, because I believe Republicans will win back the majority in the House of Representatives in 2010.

Lots of people on the outside have been pushing Pence, but he has all along seemed interested in staying to fight for 2010. A Senate run would bring into question his ability to lead the House GOP Conference at the same time.

This is refreshing news to many conservatives who were fearful that Pence leaving the House would leave its leadership devoid of a truly conservative voice.

interestingly, I’m also hearing that Pence is not opposed to higher office, just not the Senate. Hmmm . . . He’s going to be traveling a whole lot in the coming year helping candidates and meeting voters across the nation. The many conservatives floating Pence 2012 might have some incentive to keep that effort going.

The full letter from Congressman Pence is below the fold.

January 26, 2010
 
Open Letter to Friends and Supporters
 
As many of you are aware, I have been approached about running for the United States Senate in 2010. Karen and I have been humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement which we received from across Indiana, especially since there are several capable and qualified candidates already seeking the Republican nomination.

After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to remain in the House and to seek reelection to the 6th Congressional District in 2010.
I am staying for two reasons. First because I have been given the responsibility to shape the Republican comeback as a member of the House Republican Leadership and, second, because I believe Republicans will win back the majority in the House of Representatives in 2010.
One year ago I was unanimously elected chairman of the House Republican Conference, the third ranking position in House Republican leadership. I accepted that responsibility because I believed that if Republicans returned to their conservative roots, they could win back the confidence of the American people. And I see it happening every day.

As a Republican leader, I have the opportunity to shape the policy and strategy that will return a Republican majority to the Congress in 2010. So my duty is here, in the House, serving my constituents and my colleagues as we fight to restore a conservative majority to the Congress of the United States. I am not going to leave my post when the fate of the House hangs in the balance. My place is here, in that fight, with the brave men and women who will be winning that victory for the American people.

  
I also am staying because I believe we will win back the majority in the House of Representatives in 2010, and I am excited to be a part of it. While the opportunity to serve in the United States Senate is significant, I believe the best chance this nation has to restore fiscal discipline, common sense and common values to Washington, D.C., is for conservatives to retake the House in 2010. When we win back the House, we will make history and we will have the power to stop the big government plans of this administration and to steer our nation to a more secure, free and prosperous future.
 
Last fall, Karen and I completed our first full marathon. We finished the 26.2 miles in just under seven hours despite the rigors on this 50 year-old body and despite many opportunities to step off the track and call it a day. Our inspiration for the day came from a verse in the Bible that reads, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
 
I believe the race marked out for me in 2010 is in the House of Representatives. I believe that if we run that race with conviction and endurance, we can win back the Congress for the common sense and the common values of the American people, turn this tide of big government back and set the stage for a boundless American future.
 
Thanks to you all who prayed our little family through this difficult decision. I hope that God will someday permit me to perform some wider service to the people of Indiana and the country, but for now my focus must remain on finishing the job I was elected to do by my constituents and my Republican colleagues; representing conservative values in Congress and winning back the House of Representatives.
 

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COMMENTS

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  • http://dezignworx-ae.com tsquare

    Pence is staking his own future on (his) their ability to take back the House and do what they have been talking about.

    Win, lose or draw… that is refreshing.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamgainey billg

    that Mike Pence has made a Great common sense decision. We need him to bring some conservative sanity to the GOP leadership in the house! I’m not really sure about that so called leader from OHIO?

  • jeremyz

    51 and control of the Senate is in sight, but Indiana is part of that equation. We needed a strong candidate like Pence because Bayh is vulnerable and already on the ropes against Pence. House Shmouse, I woould rank the Senate of greater importance, especially with 2 more likely Supreme Court nominations coming in the next 3 years (Ginsburg and Stevens).

    If we could get a strong New York candidate to take on Gillibrand and take out Bayh…

  • joayn

    Generally, I have always preferred presidential candidates with governing experience. The only exception so far was in 2008 when I supported Fred Thompson.

    I remember the first time I saw Mike Pence give a speach, his strength and dedication shining through. And I thought, “Note to self, this may be your second exception.”

  • proudgop

    I think this is the year ( and perhaps only year) we may be able to knock off Bayh. We need a solid challenger, someone who can raise funds, and someone who is tried and tested and Pence was that

    I like Hostettler and think its noble he doesn’t take PAC money but when Bayh already has 13 mill COH I don’t see how his poor fundraising in past can compete

    I sorta wish Mitch Daniels would run or another statewide office holder now.

  • IJB

    …Provided he gets enough financial support, and puts together a team that can get him to the right message.

    Even with Pence out, Bayh is still vulnerable.

    Heck, Hostettler’s only 3% back, and Bayh’s only at 45% RIGHT NOW.
    This race is doable.

    (And you’re wrong IMO – it is *MUCH* more important to take back the House than the Senate – our 2012 Senate numbers look good, so if we don’t get it now, we should be able to take it then…)

  • cary_grant

    over a conservative junior senator any day of the week. No question he’s doing the right thing.

    And Bayh, as disappointing as he has been as a supposed conservative Democrat (e.g., giving up on Iraq, supporting various Obama programs), is still a much better Democrat to have in the Senate than most. If we were talking about knocking off someone like Durbin, I’d say it might be better for Pence to run for Senate. But even then it’s not so clear.

    Good for Pence.

  • cary_grant

    over a conservative junior senator any day of the week. No question he’s doing the right thing.

    And Bayh, as disappointing as he has been as a supposed conservative Democrat (e.g., giving up on Iraq, supporting various Obama programs), is still a much better Democrat to have in the Senate than most. If we were talking about knocking off someone like Durbin, I’d say it might be better for Pence to run for Senate. But even then it’s not so clear.

    Good for Pence.

  • jeremyz

    but the two years between are HUGE in regards to shaping the court. As we saw this past week, the true power is and will continue to be on the Supreme Court, especially with Roberts quarterbacking the conservative movement. If we can force Obama to replace sure fire libs with fence-sitters like O’Conner and Kennedy than our liklihood of success increases.

    The Dems will still have their 41 to filibuster, but nominations will go through a Republican Senate and we will not be as weak as we were with the Ginsberg and Breyer nominations after the way the Dems stone-walled our GREAT nominees during the Bush administration.

    I believe Pence’s overall contributions would be greater served beating Bayh.

  • cary_grant

    Jeremy, the problem is not that there is no Republican Senate majority. The problem is that, even with 65+ Republican senators, there wouldn’t be a majority to vote against liberal nominees. About half the Republican senators believe in deferring to the President so long as the nominee is “qualified” (and even former ACLU lawyers like Ginsburg are deemed qualified).

    The educated lawyers at PowerLine discussed this problem at some length recently. Here’s one post:

    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/05/023687.php

  • AceInTX

    On the one hand…as a member of the house leadershiop he’d be in a great position to forward the Conservative agenda far better than he could in the Senate as a freshman.

    As a Republican leader, I have the opportunity to shape the policy and strategy that will return a Republican majority to the Congress in 2010. So my duty is here, in the House, serving my constituents and my colleagues as we fight to restore a conservative majority to the Congress of the United States. I am not going to leave my post when the fate of the House hangs in the balance. My place is here, in that fight, with the brave men and women who will be winning that victory for the American people.

    But on the other hand…we need more conservatives who can bolster and support Cantor and DeMint in the Senate…and Bayh’s scalp on the GOP totem would be AWESOME!

  • Aaron Gardner

    I am sure he has a better idea of how he can be most effective than I do.

  • http://online.logcabin.org/about/ suzieQ

    Don’t discount the effects that the latest Supreme Court decision has on fundraising. Even if Bayh has 13 mil COH, the banks, oil companies, and insurance companies are not going to support socialism. They can easily donate huge amounts. And thanks to the supreme court they now have the FREEDOM to fully fund Bayh’s opposition.

  • jeremyz

    We need to hold Obama to the same standard that we faced, which is to block his ideological appointees. Moreover, we can prevent cloture with 41 conservative votes, giving way for 10 defections if we have a 51 senator majority. We can shed McCain, Grahmnesty, Snowe, Collins, and 6 others and still block his liberal appointees as they blocked Estrada and other good conservative appointees made by Bush.

    We need to continue the fight in the judiciary and stall Obama’s appointees as they stalled Bush’s. Because the Senate confirms judicial appointees, that puts the Senate above the House when comparing importance of party control. The House has nothing to do with judicial appointees and thus is rendered less (even if slightly) important for the overall advancement of the conservative agenda and movement.

    Good article, but I am not convinced that the House is more important than the Senate. When one half of the two parts of the Congressional Branch has such influence over the entirity of the Third (Judicial) Branch, than the Senate IS in my humble opinionl…more important.

  • E Pluribus Unum

    Well he can do what he wants, I guess. I understand what he’s saying, but he only makes a big splash if he unseats Boehner for Speaker, and I don’t think he will do that.

    I’m not impressed by the list of possibles against Bayh. if this ends up being the difference between 50 and 51, Pence will have made the rottenest choice he could have made.

  • jeremyz

    My sentiments (see above) exactly!!!

  • redstatesuccess

    Hoosiers need fellow RedState readers to sign up at http://GoMarlin.com/Team51.aspx and help Marlin Stutzman defeat Evan Bayh with volunteer hours, recruitment, and donations.

    Stutzman has laid a good groundwork down and now it’s just a matter of following through and increasing our numbers. Some people keep hyping Hostettler, but I’m sorry, he joined in DECEMBER (many months later than the other candidates). That does not instill any sense of leadership or strong commitment for him to join the effort so late, like he was sitting around reading the polls, finding an opportunity.

    Stutzman’s organization is cut from the same cloth as Scott Brown’s and his grassroots effort.

  • Gandalf

    I’m torn on this as well. I sat down this morning (European time) to write a diary about why I thought Pence should run for the Senate. Sadly, that article won’t be finished.

    I see what he’s saying from a fiscal position: the House has the money, so, with a strong leader, they could force cuts that the President and the Senate don’t want to make.

    But I would reiterate what jeremyz said: We are actually within site of retaking the Senate, and Indiana is key to that. That means helping to moderate the 1-4 Supreme Court seats that WILL be coming open in the next 3 years.

    But with the huge gains we’ll be making comes some major, major downsides, and this is the more important reason I would like to see Pence in the Senate.

    First, if we follow the most obvious path to taking the Senate (MA, ND, NV, CO, AR, DE, NY, IL, CA, PA, and IN) everything goes well, and we actually do take 9 or 10 seats, we will be adding 6 liberal to moderate Senators to the Republican caucus: Brown in MA, Kirk in IL, Castle in DE, Pataki in NY, Fiornia in CA, and Norton in CO (in order from most moderate to least).

    While I wouldn?t want any of these people representing MY State, I have no problem with welcoming them into the Republican caucus since I think they?ll represent their respective States very well (which is the point of representative government, after all). Unfortunately, the downside is that at least three of these (Castle, Kirk, and Pataki) will automatically be fairly respected within the establishment of the Senate and could become influential in the Republican caucus.

    All this while we?re only getting one fairly conservative but ?just another Senator? pick-up with Hoeven in ND and two complete unknowns (who will be light-weights in the Senate regardless of how conservative or not they are) with Lowden/Tarkanian in NV and whoever in AR.

    The only real definite conservative with automatic status we?ll be adding to our caucus with this strategy is Toomy in PA.

    On top of needing another seat to take control of the Senate, we need another strong conservative or two who will have automatic gravitas in the Senate to help keep the Republican caucus in line. Pence would have been that person.

    I?m just afraid that the growth the Republican Senate caucus experiences will be a growth forward for the Republican Party but backward for the conservative movement.

  • jeremyz

    i don’t see a majority whip being more influential than a 51st Republican Senate vote. A majority whip will not have sway over “Speaker Boehner” whould they take back the house. Not enough to risk taking out Bayh, which we may not get another chance to do for 18 to 24 years considering teh current political climate.

  • Dave_in_Fla

    Not sure I buy the 2012 presidential run idea, those are always disasters for House members.

    But perhaps Speaker or Majority Leader have more importance to him than Junior Senator from Indiana?

    Pretty much has to be something out there for him, Bayh’s seat is pretty much his for the taking this year.

  • zbigreddogz

    the next Scott Brown, you aren’t. But in this case, I sort of agree. At the very least, he has a better chance to define himself and take off, unlike Hostettler, who’s DOA once Bayh gets started.

    Frankly, given Hostettler’s anti-war idiocy, I’m not totally sure who I’d vote for between him and Bayh.

  • toughintn

    Erick, I can’t wait to see Redstate get behind another Scott Brown-type longshot winner — this time in Indiana!

  • soljerblue

    where he can do the most good. I take this quote from his letter to mean exactly what it says:

    “I believe the best chance this nation has to restore fiscal discipline, common sense and common values to Washington, D.C., is for conservatives to retake the House in 2010. When we win back the House, we will make history and we will have the power to stop the big government plans of this administration and to steer our nation to a more secure, free and prosperous future.”

    Notice, he says “when” we win back the House, not “if”, or some other qualifier. Fact is, all money bills begin in the House. That’s where ‘health scare’ and ‘crap-n-tax’ started, and where they’d have died if conservatives had been stronger. Pence is the guy we need there now. If you haven’t read his keynote speech to the American Spectator’s Bartley Dinner last November, it’s well wortyh your time. Find it here:

    http://spectator.org/archives/2009/11/23/the-evening-keynote

    I’d like to see him take on Bayh, and maybe Bayh IS ready to be knocked off. I don’t know. I’m from Alabama. But from what I’ve seen of Mike Pence, I’d rather see him fighting to change the House this year. Like any good strategist, he’s playing to his strong side and choosing a battle he’s pretty sure he can win.

  • cary_grant

    I don’t think we’ll get 41 senators willing to filibuster a liberal nominee, even if we had 51 Republicans in the Senate.

    But perhaps Republicans are finally coming around more and more to our point of view. I would love to see it happen. The votes for Ginsburg and Breyer were just embarrassing after the Democrats’ vile and demagogic treatment of Bork and Thomas.

    And I agree that the Senate, in general, is more important than the House. I disagree that a conservative junior senator can do more good in the Senate than a conservative leader can do in the House. Right now, in order to reform the party, we need as many conservatives as possible in leadership positions. If conservatives remain in junior spots, the “moderates” who only want to hold power without checking the growth of the national government will stay in charge.

    The Courrt is hugely important. I absolutely agree. I disagree that the presence of one more conservative senator will make the difference right now.

  • cary_grant

    I don’t think we’ll get 41 senators willing to filibuster a liberal nominee, even if we had 51 Republicans in the Senate.

    But perhaps Republicans are finally coming around more and more to our point of view. I would love to see it happen. The votes for Ginsburg and Breyer were just embarrassing after the Democrats’ vile and demagogic treatment of Bork and Thomas.

    And I agree that the Senate, in general, is more important than the House. I disagree that a conservative junior senator can do more good in the Senate than a conservative leader can do in the House. Right now, in order to reform the party, we need as many conservatives as possible in leadership positions. If conservatives remain in junior spots, the “moderates” who only want to hold power without checking the growth of the national government will stay in charge.

    The Courrt is hugely important. I absolutely agree. I disagree that the presence of one more conservative senator will make the difference right now.

  • cary_grant

    n/t

  • crosley

    Bayh was a ripe target and it’s really discouraging when you see Democrats get away with this game of pretending to be moderates to their constituents and then voting like Ted Kennedy in DC.

    I understand Pence is useful in the House, but I can see Bayh staying a Senator for a LONG time (like Byrd) if a quality challenger never steps up to the plate.

    I will say this, money can make a HUGE difference in a state like Indiana. Personally, I would rather not throw a single penny at an expensive California Senate race and throw all of that at Indiana. Enough money could drag Hostettler across the finish line, especially since the two are currently within the margin of error. Indiana is a conservative state in what’s shaping up to be a Republican blowout.

  • jeremyz

    Unless that “one vote” is the 51st vote which puts committee and senate control back in Republican hands and we can turn the tables on Obama as the Dems did to Bush in 06 and SLOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW the process way down until 2012…when you said and I agreed that our chances to pick up “buku” seats as well as the presidency arrives.

    Controlling those judges keeps liberalism at bay since neither Repubs or Dems are going to be able to pass “significant” ideological legislation in this political climate. Brown’s election has established that premise for the near future at least.

    Also, reformation of the party is not going to happen in the leadership sadly to say. The reformation we want and are demanding is only going to happen as “we the (conservative) people” organize and express our insistence by nominating and electing true conservatives at all areas of both houses of congress. We thought Cornyn was “conservative” until his prestige as NRSC chairman came into play and now he is “playing the game”.

    Take Coburn for example. He will never serve in leadership and yet he may be the best conservative leader (in the running with DeMint) in the Senate. He is the William Wallace of conservatism and several more like him, regardless of whether they are the whip, leader, etc. will have a more profound impact in the Senate and on the country as a whole.

    Moreover, it is the Coburn type of leader that gets my butt out of bed and hitting the pavement. Idealism is not dead.

    We are on the same side, but we do need to think differently regarding our tactics. Conservatism is greatly impacting the political landscape (Rubio, Toomey, Brown) without any help from party leadership.

    Pence is an idealist and his voice in the Senate would have been louder than his voice in the House. I am sad that he made the choice he made.

  • Third Street

    …Pence will be a great House Speaker someday, and Bayh’s in trouble regardless. Rasmussen just showed him only three points ahead of John Hostettler, which shocked the heck out of me. Even against Marlin Stutzman he only polls in the mid-40s.

    If Bayh’s numbers are that low against a state senator and an ex-congressman who lost his last race by 22 points then I feel pretty good about knocking him off with or without Pence.

  • Third Street

    Win Indiana, and it’s probably a comfortable hold for us for years to come — this is a seat that should be ours anyway. Win California and we have to break the bank every six years to hold onto the seat in in a state in which being a Republican is increasingly a losing proposition; not the wisest investment, especially considering the seat next comes up in a presidential election year.

    Obviously I’d like to take them both but getting rid of Bayh should definitely take priority over getting rid of Boxer.

  • Princeliberty

    Look at Brown he was a deep blue state with hardly anymoney.

    The national party refused to help and grassroots gave him all the money he needed.

    And Hostettler starts off only 3 points down! In a red state so the grassroots will be with in a huge way.

    And Bayh has moved so far to the left. He voted both TARP I and II, supported stimulis, Obama care, has a 100% pro-abortion record while constantly bragging he is pro-life.

    Bayh is liar just like his master Obama.

  • red_oakster

    Both are pro-life economic conservatives with proven records as can-do public officials

  • Princeliberty

    We are not faced with the choice. We can have both. Bayh still can be beat.

    The winds are going against Bayh, he was moved far to left and running under 50% against everyone.

    So lets go get him!

  • Illinicon

    His father was an icon in the state and he got swept up in 1980 wave by Quayle who was only in the House for four years at that point so the candidates in the race can do it and Pence can stay in the House leadership and keep a 2012 run open, which likely was not going to be the case if he had run for Senate.

  • hoosierteacher

    Pence is the only guy with a lead in the polls against Bayh (3 points). Unfortunatly, Bayh has the name recognition win in IN (and a strong family background). Only a spectatcular name (like Pence) makes this race competitive. Cook Political Report (and pretty much everyone else) has Indiana “Safe Democrat” unless Pence steps in.

    I respect Pence’s decision, but very much disagree with it. A conservative can accomplish a lot more in the senate. In the house, any member is just another face. Not to say that Pence can’t make a small difference, but he would make a huge impact if he would go to the senate. If he wants to go the presidential route, he ought to go senate, then governor, then president. There is already a popular governor (republican) in place now. Why skip the senate?

    I’m very disappointed with Pence’s decision.

  • Third Street

    It’s January, and he’s only three points ahead of Hostettler. Scott Brown was down by, what, 30 points a month before his election?

    In a normal election cycle, it would take a spectacular name to take down Bayh. In 2010, the Democrat Year of The Apocalypse, a second-stringer should do quite nicely. Bayh has name-recognition, all right, and this year what that recognition will translate into for Indiana voters is “hey, aren’t you one of the guys who voted to socialize my health care?”

    Don’t listen to Cook or most of the other prognosticators, except for maybe Michael Barone. Cook in particular is a Democrat partisan whose ratings are usually way, way behind the real on-the-ground situation. (It took him until late summer of last year to change his rating for the New Jersey governor’s race from “Safe Democrat”.)

  • hoosierteacher

    I live in Indiana, and I’ve never heard of him (her?)

    Bayh has a lot of respect in Indiana (despite the fact that he plays “moderate” in-state and votes liberal in DC). I’ll pull the lever for any republican over Bayh, but Pence was the only guy I could get excited about. The polls show Bayh ahead of everyone except for Pence, so Pence’s decision is a major let-down. Perhaps we can still get Tommy Thomspson up north.

  • hoosierteacher

    I agree with Jeremy on what “should” happen, but senate republicans don’t believe in voting against a president’s choice. The dems don’t play by those rules.

  • hoosierteacher

    Brown’s opponent was an idiot that made gaffes left and right. Bayh is an experienced poltician and very smooth. Bayh’s name is also big in Indiana. If Kennedy had run again, he probably would have won. Instead, he died and an idiot that didn’t even know who Curt Schilling was took his place. You can bet that Bayh knows who Peyton Manning is.

    Bayh’s seat has a safe rating from Cook and others, while Kennedy’s seat was leans dem or toss-up. The shift from Hostettler to Pence is 6 points.

    I won’t be voting for Bayh either way, but losing Pence is a major blow to taking the Indiana seat, and I think most folks will acknowledge that.

  • hoosierteacher

    Pence knows that he is only “likely” to beat Bayh and to become a senator, but “certain” to keep his house seat and be in the leadership circles there.

  • rick554

    We need every good Leader we can get. If Miike Pence wants to stay in the House, thats all good with me.

  • rick554

    We need every good Leader we can get. If Miike Pence wants to stay in the House, thats all good with me.

  • Brian_Roastbeef

    Remember that Bayh only polled 44-45% of the vote vs. ANY of the three candidates that Rasmussen matched him against. The people of Indiana all know who Evan Bayh is. Many of them just need to get to know Hostettler or Stutzman.

    Look at it this way. Working from Rasmussen’s numbers, if the election were held now, Hostettler would only need the Not Sures to break 2-1 for him in order to win. That’s very possible, and that isn’t even considering that there is a little over 9 months between now and election day for Hostettler to gain ground.

    And don’t discount Stutzman either. All he needs is for people to believe that he could win. That’s all it took for Scott Brown to get going – one poll from Rasmussen showing him only 9 down. I don’t know too much about him, but I think he could be the best candidate in this race. Young, dynamic, pro-business, an outsider… sounds very much like the sort of candidate that will be popular this year. He just needs to get a couple hundred thousand miles on his truck campaigning Scott Brown style. People don’t know him yet… and still Bayh can’t really get even that close to a majority against him.

  • hoosierteacher

    1. You call Curt Schilling a Yankees’ fan.

    2. You watch as a staffer knocks a Weekly Standard reporter to the ground, and then (being Attorney General of MA), you walk away and do nothing. On top of that, you lie that you “didn’t see it” until video pops up.

    3. You mock your opponent for meeting “commoners” at Fenway park, while you are attending an event sponsored by out of state lobbiests and special interest groups.

    Now unless you expect Bayh to be as stupid as Brown’s opponent, you just don’t have a race as close as MA. Bayh knows that Peyton Manning is not a Jags fan.

    By the way, Cook, Barone, and others had the MA race as even or leans dem. Nobody I’ve seen rates IN at anything other than “safe dem”. At least with Pence, that swings to “lean rep”.

    30 point swings should be exciting, but expecting them to be the norm ignores political reality.

  • Third Street

    And I’m telling you, just because the Smartest Guys in the Room say something is so doesn’t mean it is. I trust my own judgment a lot more than Charlie Cook’s, and I’m convinced Bayh is in for the political fight of his life.

  • Martin Knight

    Whatever decision he makes, I’m pretty much cool with.

    PS: I think Pence is eyeing the IN Governor’s race in 2012, not the White House

  • discerningconservative

    Speaker of the House next year.

  • Martin Knight
  • jeremyz

    Hoosier Teacher,
    I posted my resposne to Cary above 2 entries. He double posted his entry. I welcome your thoughts…

    -Jeremy Z

  • jeremyz

    About the importance of increaseing the “conservative” number of senators coming in this cycle. I had not considered the influx of moderates and the overall impact. All the more reason for Pence to jump in.

  • cary_grant

    1. agreed

    2. agreed, especially regarding the supreme court, but also – and very importantly, too – regarding the lower court judges, who are usually the ones who make the final decisions in cases.

    3. interesting point. could be, at least in the short term. i’ll have to think about it more. you’re certainly right about cornyn.

    4. and yes, coburn does have a big effect, as does demint.

    as for the rest, yes, i understand.

  • hoosierteacher

    You wrote:

    “Don?t listen to Cook or most of the other prognosticators, except for maybe Michael Barone.”

    All I did was point out that they knew Brown had a chance, and they were right.

    The point of my reply remains that Brown was running against a very, very terrible candidate who made foolish mistakes on a near daily basis.

    I live in Indiana. Few politicians here are respected more than Bayh is. Hard core political junkies like you and I know Bayh’s voting record, but most folks here don’t or don’t care. He remains popular.

    Continue to trust your judgement all you want. The obvious point today is that Bayh has dodged a major bullet. Bayh can still lose, but the chance is much less with Pence deciding to run. I think that is obvious to most people, not just the “smartest guys in the room”.

  • yokono

    and if he ever runs for president he will not have my vote

  • Repair_Man_Jack
  • proudgop

    cook and rothernberg also had that Mass Senate Race solid Dem and then it became likely dem then tossup and finally lean republican

    Bayh has great Imagery and that is so important in politics but he can be beaten because of his votes on Obamacare and stimulus plan we just need a candidate just as great image wise and able to raise the dough

  • conservativemusician

    If you’ve got something against Pence, just tell us what you don’t like about him and spare us the profanity and name calling.

  • lorig77

    He isn’t giving up or selling out, he is taking claim of the fight that has been entrusted to him. I respect his relationship with the Lord and his dedication to serving the people of this country, while rightly looking out for his family. God speed to you Mike!

  • Maggie_in_Indiana

    I was so disappointed when I heard he was thinking of running against Bayh. We need Mike in the House for this upcoming battle for the next 3 years. He is very smart and committed,and I can’t find a single negative thing to say about him.

    Bayh will not win re-election. He won’t answer his phones,snail mail,email. or even speak to Hoosiers in local newspapers. He has avoided all conflict and interaction with Hoosiers since he supported Obama for president and then got passed for VP. His votes have sunk him,along with snubbing the electorate .

    There is another that has not been mentioned here Richard Beheny a business owner(Plumber) from Fishers In. He was the founder of the Indy tea party and very popular in central Indiana. He may be the dark horse who could pull this off. With support from the national tea party affiliates he will possibly have the money to make a good run or ruin another,we shall see.

  • Princeliberty

    I’m not arguing Pence not running helps us. But he is out so we need to focus on the race at hand. We sure can still win it and get a great conservative in the seat.

    Instead of coming 30 points behind, its 3 points behind. Sure Bayh is smarter opponent. But he has cast some horrible votes that expose his entire image as being false.

    And the key in Mass and key here are the grassroots both in organization and raising money.

  • Damico

    What about David McIntosh and/or Stephen Goldsmith? Both outstanding intellects and politicians who would make for better candidates than Hostettler.

  • redstatesuccess

    Please learn much more about Marlin at www.GoMarlin.com – but here is a snapshot of Marlin Stutzman:

    Marlin Stutzman is a farmer and small business owner from Northern Indiana. That is his primary experience and that’s what we need – someone who understands that gross records of government spending doesn’t create jobs.

    He’s been a state legislator for Northern Indiana a few terms now and has closely worked with Governor Mitch Daniels to cap property taxes, strengthen Hoosiers’ second amendment rights, and Marlin has continued to fight against taxpayer funding of abortion and to strengthen our state sovereignty.

    Marlin is a family man with a very supportive wife (who doesn’t seek to be a board member for an insurance company!) and two boys. They have all campaigned with him at the grassroots level, statewide, since last summer. You won’t see a huge advertisement buy from him yet because right now it’s about finishing the signature process and recruiting volunteers.

    Please join to get informed, volunteer: Marlin can beat Bayh!
    http://GoMARLIN.com