Indiana Dem Bayh touts his ‘independence’ in Senate ad

Former Sen. Evan Bayh released a new TV ad touting the Indiana Democrat’s willingness to break from his own party and work across the aisle.

{mosads}The ad, titled “Independence,” started airing statewide on Tuesday and highlights Bayh’s bipartisan record as governor and senator.

In the 30-second spot, Bayh noted his work balancing the budget every year while serving as governor and his opposition to a cap-and-trade bill while serving in the upper chamber.

“Evan Bayh is running on a strong record of bipartisan accomplishment and of breaking with his party to do the right thing for Hoosiers,” campaign manager Paul Tencher said in a statement.

Bayh is facing Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) for retiring Sen. Dan Coats’s (R-Ind.) seat.

The race between Bayh and Young has been upgraded to a toss-up by several nonpartisan election handicappers since the former senator made a surprising, last-minute entry into the race last month.

Bayh entered the race with a huge war chest of $9 million and has already launched several TV ads.

Democrats cheered his return to politics. The party only needs to net five seats — or four and retain the White House — to regain control of the Senate. Republicans face a challenge this cycle: Democrats only need to defend 10 seats, while Republicans will need to defend 24.

While Young has a smaller cash on hand amount, he’s already received some outside help from Freedom Partners Action Fund, a super-PAC that spearheads the conservative donor network helmed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, which launched a seven-figure ad buy targeting Bayh and backing Young.