« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

MEMBER DIARY

Stunner in Indiana. Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats comes out of retirement to challenge Evan Bayh.

By: RealQuiet (Diary)  |  February 2nd, 2010 at 10:32 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

H/T Hedgehog Report

If true and several sources are indicating this, this is a great get for the GOP as Coats is a very strong candidate.  I guess Mike Pence will do just fine in the House.  Coats is a former U.S. Senator in Indiana who retired in 1998.  Coats took over Dan Quayle’s seat after Quayle ascended to the Vice Presidency.  I actually like this matchup than the one I liked with Pence.

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • proudgop

    I think this is good news so I am wohooo

    I need to find more info on Coats though ( why did he retire instead of run in 1st place?)

    • scarlos

      This is great news. I don’t know anything about his Conservative credentials, but if this is true mark this seat as in play.

      • AngryMatt

        who brought up the potential “wag the dog” scenario on Clinton’s Al-Qaeda airstrikes during the Lewinsky scandal. He was also an ambassador under GWB. One negative mark? He was the guy Bush chose to get Miers through the SCOTUS nomination process and we know how that turned out.

        Still, at the very least he’s going to make Bayh move to the right over the course of this year and force the Dem Senate committee to spend a bunch of cash to defend this seat. Definitely good news.

        • proudgop

          Does he come from money to self finance at all?

          I wish he was younger ( nothing against 65 years old of course)

          • AngryMatt

            Just to knock out Bayh and then retire after one term to give a younger guy a shot (maybe next time you’ll run Mr. Pence?!) I’d actually have a lot of respect for him. In a big wave, we could use a hired gun or two to try and wrest the majority in the Senate. Who knows, maybe it will even convince Pataki to get in the NY race against Gillibrand. I know, I know, I don’t like Pataki either, but a Rubio candidate isn’t going to win a statewide race in NY and that’s life.

          • zbigreddogz

            And this is the year where we can upend people like Bayh. If he survives this cycle, he’ll probably be there till he’s 90.

            But if he goes down now, he’s finished.

          • zbigreddogz

            He served 4 terms in the house and a term and 2/3rds in the Senate. He’s got a solid fundraising network and is universally liked by conservatives. The money will pour in.

            This is huge. This is as big as if Pataki got in, I’m guessing, except Coats will be a better Senator, as he already was.

          • redtillimdead

            Former Congressman Joseph DioGuardi (Kara’s dad) is likely to announce a run in a few weeks. Mike Long (Conservative Party Chair) has been talking to him.

      • redtillimdead

        But I do know that if it weren’t for him, Palin would not be who she is today. It has been said that he was a key supporter of Palin as McCain’s VP pick, and he kept pushing McCain to pick her.
        He must be good.

    • zbigreddogz

      He’s a solid conservative and he retired I think mostly just because he didn’t believe in making a career out of politics. He’d been in for 16 years and thought it was time to get out for a while.

      He did serve as Ambassador to Germany under GWB.

      Anyhow, Coats won in ’90 and ’92, both terrible years for R’s, after being appointed to the seat in ’88 (vacated by Quayle) and won re-election in ’92 by 16pts.

      With the exception of Mitch Daniels, Coats is the toughest candidate Bayh could have gotten. I think he’s probably equally as tough as Pence would have been.

    • Finrod

      Coats has a lifetime ACU rating of 90– compare that to Lugar’s 77 (63 in 2008) and Bayh’s 20. Here’s a brief story about the announcement:

      http://howeypolitics.com/m/ArticleDisplay.aspx?articleid=5581&sectionid=39

      • redpens

        A Blue Dog Dem is a Lap Dog Dem.

  • 6eorge Jetson

  • theoneandonlyfinn

    Bayh had the advantage of being a fiscal conservative governor AND having a popular dad.

    The problem for him now is his fiscal conservative shield is down with his votes for bloated government, and now Coats could save face from his early retirement.