A new poll of likely voters in Indiana finds Republican Senate candidate Todd Young leading his Democratic rival, former senator Evan Bayh, by five points. The new survey from WTHR and Howey Politics Indiana found Young, a three-term congressman, with 46 percent support, while Bayh has 41 percent support. The Libertarian candidate, meanwhile, has six percent support.
This newest poll, taken over the course of the first three days of November, shows a significant shift in the race to succeed retiring Republican senator Dan Coats. An early September WHTR/HPI poll found Bayh with 4-point lead, 44 percent to 40 percent. Young appeared to be closing that gap in the same poll in October, getting 41 percent to Bayh’s 42 percent.
In the November poll, Young has an edge with independent voters, getting 43 percent of them .to Bayh’s 38 percent. Young also leads among all age groups except those between 18 and 34.
“Bayh’s slide manifested itself in his favorablity rankings,” reports WTHR. “Bayh started the campaign with a +20-point net favorablity score in September but now slipped into the negatives with a -6-point score.”
Bayh, who served as Indiana’s governor as well as two terms in the U.S. Senate, did not run for reelection in 2010 and left Congress in 2011. Young was first elected to the House in 2010.
