For months now, Democratic Senate hopeful Brad Ellsworth has been on the road to visit with friends and community leaders across Indiana - from the 4th of July parade in Gary to the Strassenfest in Jasper, and all sorts of places in between.
Wherever Brad goes, members of the staff aren’t far behind, and we put together a short video so you can hear directly from them about their favorite moments on the campaign so far.
A dispatch from the Gary Post-Tribune fills us in on the latest campaign stop for Congressman Brad Ellsworth, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to replace the retiring Senator Evan Bayh.
As part of his Indiana Works Tour, U.S. Senate candidate Brad Ellsworth asked union officials Tuesday what Congress can do to improve employment in the steel industry.[...]
“When they talk about creating jobs, we set up the atmosphere. We want them creating the jobs. I want to know what we are doing in Washington that helps you and hurts you. Are we making it easier for people to buy cars?” Ellsworth said.
Retraining is the key for the thousands who have lost their jobs in the steel industry over the last three decades.
“Don’t say we can’t do things,” Ellsworth said. “That’s not what made our country great.”
The South Bend Tribune has the full report:
Democrats didn’t seem intimidated Monday.A crowd of hundreds at the West Side Democratic & Civic Club cheered U.S. Reps. Joe Donnelly of Granger and Brad Ellsworth of Evansville for voting in favor of health care reform two weeks ago.
“That kind of courage merits our support, night and day, through November,” Dan Parker, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, said to the crowd.
Donnelly, who is running for his third term, and Ellsworth, who is running for Bayh’s Senate seat, said they continue to receive a lot of questions about the new law.
“We have to show people how it affects their lives,” Ellsworth said.
Exciting news yesterday, as retiring Senator Evan Bayh announced a $1 million donation to the Indiana Democratic Party to assist in holding his seat, defending our other incumbents, and fighting back against the out-of-state attack machine targeting Hoosier Democrats.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Bayh has refunded about $1 million since deciding not to seek re-election, but that means Bayh still has about $11 million left over. He could dole out more to the party, give some to charity or horde it — just in case he decides to jump back into politics.Brian Weiss, a spokesman for Bayh, said that the senator has not decided what he’ll do with the money, but that in general he would help support “like-minded Democrats — people who want to get things done, who want to reach out and forge principled compromises.”
In a statement, Bayh called Tuesday’s check “a million dollar vote of confidence in Brad Ellsworth and Indiana Democrats.”
Thank you, Senator Bayh!
Whoever the Indiana Republican party nominates to challenge for Evan Byah’s open US Senate seat - their options all have warts. This was nicely broken down in a recent National Journal column by Charlie Cook who was lamenting the validity and impact of the Tea Party movement and its potential role in the upcoming primaries.
Indiana is a similar case. If former GOP Sen. Dan Coats had never retired and was simply running for re-election, he would be in strong shape.
But even having retired, he would have been better off had he gone back to Indiana after his stint as ambassador to Germany, instead of moving to Northern Virginia to become a Washington lobbyist.
And if he weren’t on videotape effectively telling a North Carolina audience he intended to retire there but please don’t tell the folks back in Indiana, he would have been stronger still.
Suffice to say Coats is a bit damaged, and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence might have been a better candidate.
Even hindered by baggage, though, Coats is probably a decent bet to win the open seat against Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth, the tough former sheriff who traded in his badge for a congressional pin in 2006.
But if Republicans nominate a perennially weak candidate like former Rep. John Hostettler, or perhaps a Tea Party candidate, Ellsworth could be well-positioned for the open seat.
Hostettler had an ugly habit of raising little money in off years, he had a lousy campaign organization, and every two years the national party had to bail his sorry rear end out — until he lost to Ellsworth in 2006.
Hostettler made no friends at the National Republican Congressional Committee. Indeed, when he finally did lose, the feeling seemed to be, “Good riddance. In a cycle or two we’ll get a Republican in that seat who will be worth defending and won’t need to be bailed out every election year.”
As a Senate candidate, Hostettler is likely to be a disaster, unless he has gotten a complete political makeover. He or a Tea Party type could lose what otherwise would be a fairly safe race.
