Evan Bayh presidential campaign, 2008
| Friends of Evan Bayh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2008 |
| Candidate |
Evan Bayh Governor of Indiana (1989–1997) U.S. Senator of Indiana (1999–2011) |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Headquarters | Washington, DC |
| Key people | Anita Dunn, Thurgood Marshall, Jr., David Holtzman, Nancy Jacobson, Dan Pfeiffer |
| Receipts | US$0 (2007-01-31) |
The 2008 presidential campaign of Evan Bayh, Democratic Senator and 46th Governor, began shortly after the 2004 presidential election.
Although he was frequently mentioned as a possible challenger to frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Bayh stopped short of a full-fledged candidacy, withdrawing from the race in December 2006 despite accumulating approximately $10.4 million for the campaign. His withdrawal was tied to his public image, which characterized the candidate as "dependable" but "dull".
Bayh spent a considerable amount of time campaigning throughout the early primary states (particularly Iowa and New Hampshire) for most of 2005 and 2006. The staff from his All America Political Action Committee (PAC) worked as his campaign team.
Two weeks prior to his withdrawal, Bayh filed his organization with the Federal Elections Commission as an exploratory committee, under the header Friends of Evan Bayh. Following his exit from the race, Bayh endorsed and campaigned for Hillary Clinton for president, switching his support to Democratic nominee Barack Obama following Clinton's withdrawal. He was a finalist to become Obama's running mate, losing, in a close decision, to Delaware Senator Joe Biden.
Following the re-election of President George W. Bush and Bayh's re-election as a Senator from Indiana, Bayh considered the possibility of running for president in 2008. Although Bush carried Bayh's home state by 20 points, Bayh won 61% of the vote, solidifying the Senator's appeal to moderate and Republican voters. After serving four years as the chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, Bayh hoped to even further demonstrate his position as a moderate by helping to found the Third Way Political Action Committee in January 2005.
...
Wikipedia