U.S. Senator Evan Bayh came to Washington after serving two terms as Indiana 's governor, where he had built one of the strongest, most financially secure state economies in the nation. He brought with him a remarkable record of sound fiscal management and economic growth, having built a $1.6 billion surplus for Hoosiers without once raising taxes, and creating 375,000 new Hoosier jobs. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette said Bayh's commitment to fiscally responsible tax cuts make him "one of the few voices of reason" in Washington.

Elected to his first Senate term in November of 1998, Senator Bayh has since established himself as a leading mainstream voice in the Senate, bringing with him important Hoosier values and common sense to work with legislators from both sides of the aisle to make progress on a wide range of issues important to all Americans.

Bayh's common sense approach is key to his success in the United States Senate. "Evan Bayh is staking out new political turf in Washington – and carving out his identity – by confronting the way things work in the tradition-bound U.S. Senate," wrote the Indianapolis Star. Bayh is a leader of the New Democrat movement and works hard to find ways to save important issues that are at risk of being held hostage by partisan politics. He is the Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and a member of the Senate Centrist Coalition. He also helped establish the New Democrat Coalition, a new and growing group of senators who are committed to sensible, bipartisan progress. Bayh also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, a non-partisan group that works to promote and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide.

During his five years in the Senate, Bayh has made it a top priority to continue to fight to create good jobs with good wages for everyone willing to work hard and play by the rules. By working to secure investments for nano-technology research at Purdue, life sciences initiatives in Indianapolis and numerous other projects, Senator Bayh has laid a foundation for establishing the good jobs of tomorrow.

In Washington, Bayh has carried on the work on issues he emphasized as governor, seeking to protect and create new jobs, maintain fiscal responsibility, and ensure affordable health care. He has also worked to raise the performance of our nation's public schools, encourage responsible fatherhood, and provide tax relief for families struggling to afford the costs of college, retirement and long-term care of loved ones.

Bayh serves on six Senate committees: Armed Services; the Select Committee on Intelligence; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance; the Small Business Committee; Energy and Natural Resources; and the Special Committee on Aging.

Before his election to the Senate, Bayh served two terms as Governor of Indiana. Stressing fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, job creation and lean government, then-Governor Bayh's list of accomplishments are impressive: eight years without raising taxes; the greatest single tax cut; the largest budget surplus in state history; national leadership in moving people from welfare to work; more dollars for schools every year; high academic standards and new college opportunities; more than 375,000 new jobs; tougher laws; and improved environmental quality. In 1992, the Wall Street Journal wrote that "Mr. Bayh's record is one of a genuinely fiscally conservative Democrat."

Bayh was born in Shirkieville, Indiana. He attended Indiana University, where he graduated with honors in business economics in 1978, and the University of Virginia, where he received his law degree in 1981. After clerking for a federal court judge and entering private law practice in Indianapolis, he was elected Indiana's Secretary of State in 1986.

Of everything he has done, Senator Bayh says he is most proud of the responsibility he assumed in November of 1995, as the father of twin sons Beau and Nicholas – a joy he shares with his wife, Susan.

Show full bio

Hide full bio