With a result that may bode ill tidings to Joe Donnelly, Indiana’s current Democrat senator, Democrat candidate Evan Bayh could not swing enough votes to put him in the U.S. Senate for the Hoosier State, allowing GOP Congressman Todd Young to become the newest junior senator from Indiana.
Fox News called the open Indiana Senate seat for Republican Todd Young as early as 7:30 p.m. Central time.
It was a hard loss for Evan Bayh who has one of the biggest political names in the Hoosier State. Just like his father, Birch Bayh, Evan was a one-time U.S. senator from Indiana, but he is also a past Indiana governor.
Despite that rich history, Bayh’s well-known name was not enough to send him to victory in his attempt to once again go to Washington for Indiana.
In a year where voters were looking for outsiders, Bayh was dogged by his work as a lobbyist and was stung when news broke that he did not even have a permanent home in his state.
Instead, Indiana voters chose two-term Republican Congressman Todd Young, who made a name for himself by beating an incumbent Democrat congressman for his first run for Congress in 2010.
Indiana easily went for Trump and became one of the earliest states to be called for a candidate on election night. The state is also the home state of the GOP vice presidential nominee, Governor Mike Pence.
But tonight’s results may bode ill for the 2018 re-election campaign of Joe Donnelly, Indiana’s only Democrat U.S. senator.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.