A new poll of the Indiana U.S. Senate race showed a statistical tie among former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh and GOP Congressman Todd Young.
Bayh led Young by 1 percentage point, 42-41, among likely Hoosier voters in the WTHR/HPI survey that had a 4-point margin of error.
The contest to replace retiring GOP Sen. Dan Coats has grown more competitive as Election Day approaches. Bayh led by 4 percentage points in September, 44-40, but his lead has evaporated as Young has pulled ahead among independents. Young leads Bayh by 3 percentage points, 38-35, among independent voters, after trailing Bayh by 6 points, 41-35, among the same independents last month.
Bayh’s campaign has suffered from criticism that that has portrayed him as a lobbyist with loosening ties to his home state. Bayh has responded to the criticism in an ad where he argues that he’s not a lobbyist and plays basketball with his sons who wear shirts featuring the logos of Indiana sports teams.
The new WTHR/HPI poll surveyed 600 likely voters from Oct. 3-5. It came on the heels of a different WTHR/HPI poll that showed Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by just 5 percentage points, 43-38, in the home state of GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence.
