Bayh won't seek Senate re-election, source says
Washington (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh is expected to announce Monday afternoon that he will not seek a third term in the Senate, said a source close to the Indiana Democrat.
The senator has scheduled at 2 p.m. ET news conference in Indianapolis.
"After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned," Bayh will say, according to the senator's prepared remarks that began circulating after the news broke that he was retiring.
Bayh, a former two-term governor, was first elected to the Senate in 1998, taking 62 percent of the vote. He won re-election with 64 percent six years later.
Bayh is the third Democratic senator to announce he is retiring when the curtain drops on the 111th Congress. Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota previously said they would not seek re-election.
Democrats will have to defend five open seats in November as Roland Burris of Illinois and Ted Kaufman of Delaware have said they will not run for their own six-year terms. Burris was appointed to President Obama's former Senate seat, while Kaufman was appointed to Vice President Joe Biden's old seat.
Meanwhile, Republicans will be forced to defend six seats in the midterm elections. Sens. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Kit Bond of Missouri, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, George Voinovich of Ohio and Sam Brownback of Kansas are all retiring at the end of the year. Sen. George LeMieux of Florida, who was named to replace former Sen. Mel Martinez, also will vacate his seat.
Former Republican Sen. Dan Coats recently announced a bid to challenge Bayh this year. Coats served from 1989 to 1999 but chose not to run for re-election. Bayh won that contest.
Former Rep. John Hostettler and state Sen. Marlin Stutzman also are bidding for the GOP Senate nomination in Indiana.
Even though Bayh would have probably faced a difficult re-election, due to the anti-incumbent political climate, an Indianapolis Star/WTHR poll conducted in November indicated that 61 percent of Indiana voters approved of the job the senator he was doing, with 24 percent disapproving.
A source said Bayh was frustrated with the Senate's inability to work in a bipartisan manner. Another source added the tipping point in his decision was the chamber's inability to approve a bipartisan deficit reduction commission. The source added that Bayh could consider another bid for Indiana governor.
A Democratic Party source said Bayh's announcement took national Democrats by surprise. The source added that Democratic Reps. Baron Hill and Brad Ellsworth and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel may all consider making bids for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Bayh, a centrist Democrat, reportedly was considered a possible running mate for Obama in 2008. Bayh's father, Birch, served three terms in Senate.
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