IN-Sen: Pence Weighing a Bid

[ccharles000]

Looks like one big shoe is already dropping in the wake of the Massachusetts special election -- one more big-name Republican is weighing a Senate bid, against a Democrat previously thought to be unassailable: Evan Bayh.

In the wake of winning MA, GOPers are looking to put 1 more state in play if they can convince House GOP Conference chair Mike Pence to run against Sen. Evan Bayh (R-IN).

Pence and his aides will meet with top staffers at the NRSC tomorrow, several sources tell Hotline OnCall, where they will discuss a possible bid. The NRSC has polled IN, and their survey shows Pence in a competitive position, though he trails Bayh in initial matchups.

My first response, when this was bubbling up as a rumor, was puzzlement, as Mike Pence would be giving up a coveted #3 slot on the GOP leadership ladder for an uphill run against a man with huge name rec and an eight-digit war chest. Pence seems better-known among national-level news junkies than he probably is in, say, Gary or Evansville or anywhere else outside his district -- and he starts way behind the 8-ball on fundraising, with only $462K banked (thanks to not having to run competitive races in his red district). Also, rumors have previously had Pence, if looking for any promotion, to be considering the Presidential race in 2012 instead (although he'd have a number of movement conservative activists in his corner, he'd still be an extreme dark horse there, though).

Still, with his House leadeship position, he should be able to start filling his coffers quickly if he did jump into the Senate race. And as for the national ambitions, the NRSC has apparently has though that through, too: "Senate strategists plan to point out those ambitions are difficult to achieve without a Senate seat."

http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/6246/insen-pence-weighing-a-bid