SOUTH BEND — As the official Democratic nominee for Indiana secretary of state, Beau Bayh returned to South Bend on Friday, June 12, two months after his Dyngus Day appearance.
The Tribune had the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with him.
Bayh, who is the son of former Indiana Gov. and U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh and grandson of the late U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, announced his run for secretary of state in early October. During the June 6 Democratic Convention, Bayh won 61% of delegates’ vote against fellow Democrat and veteran Blythe Potter, according to IndyStar reporting.
In November, Bayh will face Republican Max Engling, Libertarian Lauri Shillings and, potentially, Lincoln Party candidate and former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, if at least 37,000 of the 52,500 signatures he gathered are validated.
Bayh believes his message of “rooting up corruption and waste” from Indiana government resonates with voters and ultimately helped him win the nomination.
“One of the main refrains I hear when I travel around our state, regardless of people’s political parties, is that they’re tired of some of the insider dealing in our state government,” Bayh said. “And so I promise the first thing I’ll do when we win this election is open an independent audit on the office.”
The Tribune met with Bayh at the Java Cafe in downtown South Bend. Wearing his signature blue- and red-striped tie, Bayh appeared collected and confident.
As he spoke with The Tribune, he listed off a few reminders of how Secretary of State Diego Morales has spent taxpayer money during his time in office, including a $90,000 GMC Yukon Denali, hiring his brother-in-law and paying him a six-figure salary, overseas trips, and millions in no-bid contracts to campaign donors.
Much like any other political office, the next elected secretary of state could face challenges ahead of them. Bayh said the first challenge is that trust needs to be rebuilt in the office.
“We’re going to struggle accomplishing much policy, which is going to be very important, if the voter and if the taxpayer fundamentally does not trust this office … if it’s not using the taxpayer resources and trust in an honest way,” Bayh said.
This is why, he believes, conducting the independent audit serves as a “baseline” for restoring trust in the office.
Election integrity
Indiana has historically low voter turnouts, ranking 41st in 2024. In the May primary election, voter turnout in St. Joseph County was higher than the three previous primaries, but overall, voter turnout in the county is decreasing.
Bayh has a few things in mind to increase participation from eligible voters, including working with the legislature to protect and expand early voting, end straight ticket voting, and implement citizen-led ballot initiatives.
“What this means is in addition to candidates on the ballot, you have big questions as well,” Bayh said about ballot initiatives. “And not only do I think that would result in more common-sense policy, I trust the five million registered Hoosier voters in our state to have a more direct say in some of the big issues that are facing them.”
Concerns of election fraud are not unique to Indiana. And Bayh said he will have a zero-tolerance policy for any type of illegal voting.
“Those instances of illegal voting, which we do uncover, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Bayh said. “There’s no excuse. It can’t happen.”
The Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 10 during the 2025 session. The bill makes it so students can no longer vote using their university-issued ID. But on April 14, 2026, a federal ruling blocked the ban ahead of the May primary, allowing young Hoosier voters to use their student ID, according to IndyStar reporting.
Bayh said he believes the state has done a very good job of protecting the integrity of elections and is in favor of voter ID laws.
Under federal law, 18 U.S. Code § 592, voter intimidation is illegal. It is also illegal for troops or the interference of armed forces to be at polling locations.
“If there is federal law enforcement showing up outside of voting places, they need to do that according to federal laws that we have in our country that prevent voter intimidation,” Bayh said. “That’s not to say that there’s no reason that they might have that they could be there.
“Of course, those circumstances may exist, but if they’re going to show up, it better be in accordance with federal law.”
Appealing to the people
As important as policy is when determining whom to vote for, the emotional appeal a candidate may evoke in voters cannot be ignored.
At the time of speaking with Bayh, he had visited 80 out of 92 counties within the state. Throughout his travels, he said, he has heard from Democrats, Republicans and independent voters that they are “sick and tired of the divisiveness, the anger and the hatred that has fueled our politics.”
“We need leaders here in our state that recognize that the big things that we have in common are [our] shared identity as Americans, for love of our state and of our country, for our shared identity as Hoosiers,” Bayh said. “Those things are more important than any of our small differences that are too often exploited.”
Bayh said he would be the type of leader that leads by unity and by bringing people together around their shared Hoosier values.
In the spirit of unity, Bayh said, it’s a vision that cuts across party lines and ideology.
“I talk to Republicans all the time and Democrats and Independents that don’t want to hate their neighbors. They don’t,” he said. “And they don’t want leaders that fuel the division and the anger that has caused our politics and our government to come to a standstill.
“And so that message of unity cuts across party lines; it cuts across ideology,” Bayh said. “Some of the things I stand for are not overly partisan and what’s partisan about rooting out wasteful spending in our government? We can all get on board.”
Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at jbalog@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Democratic nominee Beau Bayh spoke one-on-one with The Tribune
Reporting by Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
