Dick Morris, former Bill Clinton political advisor-turned conservative commentator, has a column on his site today enumerating the Senate’s vulnerable Democrats in the 2010 election and naming the Republicans who will almost certainly replace them.
Included in that list is Indiana’s Evan Bayh, but Morris opines there is no likely Republican to challenge Bayh.
Not so.
I was speculating at lunch that Congressman Mike Pence has the name recognition and the gravitas to deny Bayh a third term.
It turns out other people think so too.
Here’ what she says on her blog today:
Pence and his aides will meet with top staffers at the NRSC tomorrow, several sources tell Hotline OnCall, where they will discuss a possible bid. The NRSC has polled IN, and their survey shows Pence in a competitive position, though he trails Bayh in initial matchups.
GOPers have failed to recruit a top-tier challenger against the popular 2-term incumbent, thanks largely to Bayh’s bankroll. He had $12.7M in the bank as of Sept. 30, and GOPers expect he would be able to raise many more millions before Election Day.
But Pence has a base, especially as the number 3 GOPer in the House, and top Senate strategists believe he would be able to raise the money to compete with Bayh. He also has the national ambition, and Senate strategists plan to point out those ambitions are difficult to achieve without a Senate seat.
Yet Pence’s team is acutely aware of the financial challenge such a race would pose, and he had just $462K CoH at the end of the 3rd quarter. Pence’s decision will rest heavily on whether the NRSC would make a financial commitment to help make up the early difference, a source close to Pence said. The source also said Pence is unlikely to turn down the offer soon, indicating he is taking the notion seriously.
The Hated Huffington Post has a similar story, as do MSNBC, the Washington Independent and Beltway Blips.
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