FRENCH LICK — If the moribund Indiana Democratic Party eventually traces a red-letter date for the commencement of its revival, it could be Aug. 15, 2025.
Last Friday at the French Lick American Legion hall, Beau Bayh introduced himself to Hoosier Democrats. “This is one of those moments when someone needs to stand up,” he told about 150 Orange County Democrats. “That’s why I’m here.”
The day of Bayh’s introductory foray, President Donald Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska with a red carpet. Days earlier, Trump had directed National Guard troops to occupy Washington, D.C. He and Gov. Mike Braun were toying with a future Indiana General Assembly special session on a mid-decade redistricting mission to wring out one more GOP congressional seat.
“I’m here because I’ve seen what’s going on in our country and our state,” the 29-year-old Bayh explained. “To be honest, we’ve got some real work to do. We’ve got to rebuild our middle class in Indiana. The middle class a lot of you in this room grew up with isn’t there anymore. People are holding two full-time jobs and barely making ends meet.”
Beau Bayh is poised as the Indiana Democratic Party’s best hope at revival, coming at what is its historic nadir. He’s the grandson of former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh and the son of former Indiana Gov. and U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh. The younger Bayh is a Harvard University law graduate and a Marine Corps captain. He completed a clerkship for a federal judge.
He looks like he stepped out of central casting for a political career.
“The first thing I did after college was to join the United States Marine Corps,” Bayh told the rapt audience. “In the units I led, I can tell you it did not matter where you came from. It didn’t matter what you looked like. It sure as heck did not matter who you voted for. None of those things were important. We came together despite those differences to achieve a common mission, to fulfill our common purpose. And, honestly, we could use a little of that Marine spirit today.”
At this point during his remarks, which lasted about six minutes, he exhibited the rhetorical cadence of his father.
Although Beau Bayh did not announce a run for a specific office, and Evan Bayh told Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs that his son would spend the coming days charting a political course, the most likely scenario for the younger Bayh is almost identical to the one that presented itself to his father in 1985.
That year, Evan Bayh announced his bid for the open secretary of state seat being vacated by Republican Edwin Simcox after 12 years. Republicans had controlled the governor’s office for 18 years.
Evan Bayh’s 1988 victory commenced 16 consecutive years of Democratic governors.
Most Democrats who spoke with Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs at the French Lick gathering on Friday said they expect Beau Bayh to run for secretary of state.
Morales, the incumbent secretary of state, has had a controversial tenure since the Holli Sullivan upset at the 2022 Republican Convention, followed by the easy defeat of Democrat Destiny Wells by 14% that November. Since taking office, Morales has had to defend allegations of nepotism, large staff bonuses, and no-bid contracts. Morales faces two GOP challengers at next year’s convention and is widely seen as vulnerable in the general election.
Since 1954, two generations of the Bayh family have won almost 11 million general election votes. Birch and Evan Bayh have won five of six U.S. Senate races, two for Indiana governor, one for secretary of state and four for the General Assembly.
But Evan Bayh last won a race in 2004, when he was reelected to the U.S. Senate. He abruptly retired from the Senate in 2010 and then attempted to revive his career in 2016. But Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Young won by 10%, riding a wave created by the GOP presidential ticket of Donald Trump and former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
The Bayh brand is no longer as vivid as it once was. In 2026, it will be a decade since a Bayh last appeared on an Indiana ballot and 22 years since the family dynasty’s last victory.
“We’ve got to rebuild the broken bond of trust between our elected officials and the people,” he continued. “I see the folks in Indianapolis. They’re not serving us; they’re serving their donors. They’re serving the insiders, the special interests. They’re not serving us; they’re serving the establishment. That’s not what public service is. They serve us.”
Then Bayh made a bond with his audience.
“I want to conclude by making you all a promise, and I hope you make the same promise to me,” he said. “I promise to fight for what is right and not what is expedient or easy. I promise to fight for the people of this state. Not the insiders, not the establishment, not the donors. The people. Because that’s what public service is all about.
“I promise to listen,” he concluded. “I think if we do all of those things, we’re going to build a future in Indiana worthy of our proud past.”
Beau Bayh’s emergence comes at a time of crisis for Indiana Democrats. They have not won a statewide race since 2012.
Brian A. Howey is a senior writer and columnist for Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs. Follow him on X @hwypol and Blue Sky @hwypol.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Beau Bayh emerges as Indiana Dems seek a comeback | Opinion
Reporting by Brian Howey / South Bend Tribune
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