todd young took down evan bayh in indiana, bolstering republican hopes to retain the senate. | ap photo the upset gop victory is a blow to democrats<u+2019> senate majority hopes. by seung min kim 11/08/16 08:33 pm est updated 11/08/16 08:37 pm est republican todd young toppled democrat evan bayh in indiana<u+2019>s senate race tuesday night in what might go down as the biggest upset of the 2016 election <u+2014> knocking off a titan of state politics who had never lost an election in three decades of public service, and damaging democratic hopes of retaking the senate majority. young had 56 percent to bayh<u+2019>s 39 percent when the race was called by the associated press at 8:30 p.m. eastern, with 44 percent of precincts reporting. story continued below young, a three-term house member, went from prohibitive favorite to massive underdog and back again over the course of a tumultuous year. his bid to replace retiring gop sen. dan coats was shaping up as a relatively sleepy matchup against outgunned democrat baron hill <u+2014> whom young beat in a 2010 house race <u+2014> until bayh shocked indiana and washington by leaping back into the race in july, six years after retiring from the senate. hill dropped out to make way for the well-known bayh, and democrats began to count on indiana as a likely pickup in the fall. internal democratic polling immediately showed bayh leading young by more than 20 percentage points. but the gop refused to concede the race, vowing to give bayh the tough political fight they feel he never faced in his career <u+2013> first as indiana secretary of state, then governor and finally as u.s. senator. by john bresnahan <u+201c>we<u+2019>re going to defeat evan bayh,<u+201d> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell confidently proclaimed during an interview with politico at the republican national convention in july, when the democrat still enjoyed a wide polling lead. republican outside groups ultimately poured over $23 million into indiana, battering bayh for his profitable post-senate career, his decision to support president barack obama<u+2019>s health care law in 2010, and his closeness with the clintons. hillary clinton lost the state to republican nominee donald trump on tuesday night. outside democratic groups, primarily senate majority pac, the main super pac dedicated to electing democrats to the senate, also spent big to boost bayh. republicans celebrate wins across the country 11/09/16 04:59 am est questions rose almost immediately about bayh<u+2019>s residency, his lucrative career in the private sector after he left the senate, and just why he wanted to rejoin the senate, an institution he derided when he announced his retirement six years ago. it didn<u+2019>t help that bayh botched his address of his indianapolis condo during a television interview earlier in the campaign. but he was more damaged by stories about his lucrative post-senate jobs as an adviser to the private equity firm apollo global management and a partner at the d.c. law and lobbying firm mcguirewoods <u+2014> particularly when copies of bayh<u+2019>s personal senate schedule leaked to the press, showing that bayh met with apollo executives in 2010 after he announced his retirement and while he was still voting on issues in which apollo had an interest. democrats say they never expected bayh<u+2019>s commanding double-digit polling leads to hold, particularly in a red state such as indiana. but that lead steadily collapsed during the truncated campaign, with a poll from monmouth university showing bayh and young tied in the final week before election day. democrats worked to highlight bayh<u+2019>s past accomplishments <u+2014> such as the popular <u+201c>21st century scholars<u+201d> program established by bayh as governor <u+2014> and attack young<u+2019>s track record on trade and other economic issues. but the democratic attacks against young, an aggressive former marine corps intelligence officer, never really stuck. instead, the race became a referendum on bayh. young<u+2019>s path to victory was smoothed by outside groups like senate leadership fund, a super pac run by a former mcconnell aide, and the u.s. chamber of commerce, which backed young in a competitive primary earlier this year. he defeated tea party-backed rep. marlin stutzman in may. scott bland contributed reporting. full results: http://politi.co/2f7mhbq by bill scher by joshua zeitz by thomas wright by jack shafer
young brings down bayh in indiana - politico
seung min kim john bresnahan jack shafer