Menendez Wants Ellsworth For Bayh Seat
DSCC chair Bob Menendez on Wednesday voiced strong support for Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), one of the likely contenders to replace Sen. Evan Bayh (D) on the ballot, even as other top Dems are considering throwing their hats into the ring.
"It seems to me that Cong. Ellsworth is going to be a great candidate," Menendez said during a breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
Ellsworth did not file for re-election to his House seat -- something Menendez said "speaks volumes" about his intentions to run for Bayh's seat. Other lesser-known contenders, like Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott (D) and '92 nominee/ex-Sec/State Joe Hogsett (D), are either still running or are keeping their options open.
Rep. Baron Hill (D) has not decided whether he will make a race either. Hill told the Louisville Courier-Journal he is "open to the idea. It doesn't mean that I'm going to do it."
Hill has said he would like to run for GOV in '12, but if Bayh -- a former 2-term gov. himself -- decides to get into that race, it could preclude Hill's statewide ambitions, at least until Sen. Richard Lugar (R) retires.
Though Menendez wants Ellsworth to run, he made clear he is not the final arbiter. "Ultimately, it's the decision of the state committee in Indiana," he said. IN Dems will meet in June to formally pick their nominee, though they are likely to coalesce behind a pick earlier than that.
Meanwhile, both parties are looking into whether or not the eventual Dem nominee will be severely hampered by federal fundraising rules. GOPers plan to argue that because Dems won't face a primary -- in fact, Dems will pick their candidate after GOPers hold a May 4 primary -- the eventual Dem nominee shouldn't be able to raise as much as the GOP nominee.
FEC rules allow for contributions of $2,400 from individuals and $5,000 from PACs to candidates per election. That means ex-Sen. Dan Coats (R), ex-Rep. John Hostettler (R) or state Sen. Marlin Stutzman (R) would be able to raise $2,400 from a donor for the primary, and then, assuming they win, another $2,400 for the general election -- a total of $4,800 per individual.
Top GOPers are looking into whether Dems should be allowed to abide by the same rules. Because there will be no primary, they argue, Dems should only be allowed to raise $2,400 from individual donors once.
If the issue ever gets to court, Dems are expected to fight back hard. Top Dem lawyer Marc Elias has already been working with the DSCC to figure out state laws surrounding replacement candidates, following Bayh's sudden and surprising departure last week.
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