U.S. Chamber stepping up ads against Bayh
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is stepping up its opposition to former Sen. Evan Bayh, a Democrat whose anti-regulation views the powerful business lobby liked enough that it hired Bayh when he left Congress in 2011.
After already spending $1.5 million in ads criticizing Bayh for voting for the Affordable Care Act while in the Senate, the chamber is launching Friday another seven-figure ad campaign to help GOP Rep. Todd Young win Indiana’s Senate race.
“Evan Bayh is, well, more liberal than you may think,” says the ad, which will run on radio, television and on digital platforms. “It’s time for a change.”
Bayh, one of the more business-friendly Democrats during his two terms in the Senate, helped the U.S. Chamber of Commerce fight government regulations after leaving office in 2011. He also worked for a private equity firm and served on multiple corporate boards.
The New York Times reported Wednesday the chamber rebuffed Democrats efforts to get them to stay out of the race, straining the relationship with the party.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat expected to become the leader of Senate Democrats next year, told the Times the chamber’s opposition to Bayh “rips any pretense of bipartisanship.”
“The national headquarters is a totally partisan place and has dramatically hurt their ability to work with our caucus in 2017,” Schumer told the Times.
Bayh, likewise, said the chamber is “putting partisan politics over a longstanding relationship.”
Indiana Senate race is No. 2 in TV ad volume
Indiana’s race for the seat held by retiring Sen. Dan Coats is one of the contests which will determine which party controls the Senate next year.
“It’s very important for Todd Young to get elected because Republicans need to keep control of the Senate,” Cindy Hulen, owner of Essential Architectural Signs, said Thursday as the National Federation of Independent Business endorsed Young.
Hulen, who hosted the NFIB announcement at her shop, said she has “no use” for Bayh because of his vote for the Affordable Care Act and other issues.
The NFIB said Young has voted its way 100 percent of the time. Bayh’s NFIB score ranged from 0 percent to 77 percent during his two terms in the Senate.
Bayh sided with the chamber on 55 percent of its top priority votes. The chamber said candidates need at least a 70 percent score to be endorsed.
During Bayh’s last year in the Senate, some of the times he broke with the chamber included backing an overhaul of the nation’s financial regulatory system and the federal student loan programs. Among the times he sided with the business group was when he was one of six Democrats to vote to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the ads the chamber is running in the general election, the group spent about $1 million helping Young win his competitive primary against Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a tea party favorite.
"The Indiana Chamber and U.S. Chamber are doubling down until the end for the next U.S. Senator from Indiana, Todd Young," said Rob Engstrom, the group's national political director.
Contact Maureen Groppe at mgroppe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mgroppe.