Few former senators have done what Bayh might do

How unusual would it be for former Sen. Evan Bayh to return to the Senate?

Only eight former senators have returned through appointment or an election during the past 60 years, according to Eric Ostermeier, author of the Smart Politics blog run by the University of Minnesota.

The last one to do it was Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, who did not seek re-election in 1998, when Bayh first ran, but returned to Indiana in 2010. (When Coats came back, Bayh was expected to seek a third term that year, but decided to retire shortly before the filing deadline.)

Now that Coats is retiring again, and Democratic nominee Baron Hill withdrew from the ticket Monday, Bayh is expected to replace Hill. He would face GOP Rep. Todd Young in the November election.

One other former senator, Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, is seeking his old job this year. Unlike Bayh, however, Feingold left the Senate because he lost his 2010 re-election race. If Feingold wins this year, he would be just the third senator since 1956 to return after losing a re-election bid, according to Ostermeier.

The Wisconsin and Illinois Senate seats are the likeliest pickups for Democrats this year, according to Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the Crystal Ball, a website run by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Kondik said Indiana’s seat would be Democrats’ next best chance if Bayh is the nominee.

Bayh has not said whether he will run but has not said anything to dismiss that expectation. Indiana Democrats will meet July 22 to pick a replacement for Hill.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Politico on Monday the credit for persuading Bayh to run goes to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

“This was done single-handedly by Chuck Schumer,” Reid told Politico.

Schumer is expected to replace Reid as Democratic leader when Reid retires at the end of the year.

Democrats need to net four seats to win control of the Senate if Hillary Clinton becomes president, and five seats if Donald Trump wins. That's because the vice president would have the power to break tie votes in the event of a 50-50 split between the two parties in the 100-member chamber.

Email Maureen Groppe at mgroppe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mgroppe.