Republicans in recent years have gotten a reputation for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory -- if there was a way to screw up an election, they could be trusted to find it. Seems like Democrats might be heading into that territory now. Evan Bay'hs abrupt retirement announcement turned the U.S. Senate race from a probable Democratic win to a probable Republican win. And with the news that an incumbent Democratic House member has volunteered to replace Bayh on the ballot, the hits just keep coming:
Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth's departure from the 8th District House race turns that contest on its head, with one leading handicapper now giving Republicans the edge.
Citing the absence of an incumbent, the current political climate and issues that could make presumptive Democratic nominee Trent Van Haaften "an easy target for Republican ad makers," the Cook Political Report changed its assessment of a "likely Democratic" win with Ellsworth in the race to "lean Republican" without him.
So Indiana could help the GOP take back the Senate and the House. That would make up a little for our momentary derangement in the presidential election.
