Dan Coats Confirms Bid for U.S. Senate

This is great news for Indiana and for America. We hated to see former Senator Coats retire and are so happy to see him get in the race for the Republican nomination to take on Democrat Senator Evan Bayh in the general election. Evan Bayh needs retired like yesterday. He quit voting for his constituents some time ago, but a challenger who could take him on has been missing until now.

Senator Coats' expertise as a former member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is needed today more then ever after the fiasco by the Obama Administration on the Christmas Day Bomber.

The Democrats are already on the attack against former Senator Coats which shows the threat he poses to Evan Bayh.

We will keep you posted when he has his site is up.

By Ryan Elijah
Story Updated: Feb 10, 2010 at 1:37 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) - Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats confirmed this morning that he will run for U.S. Senate. During a live interview with Charly Butcher on WOWO radio Coats said his campaign is "up and running, with thousands of volunteers on the ground".


The campaign is still collecting the necessary signatures to enter the Republican primary in May. The former 4th District Congressman said he never expected to be back in politics, but the recent turn the country has taken concerned him, leading him to enter the race.

Since word of a possible run by Coats surfaced, Democrats came out quickly labeling Coats as a lobbyist and questioning his recent ties to Indiana. Coats will join 4 other Republicans, including State Senator Marlin Stutzman and former congressman, John Hostettler in the Republican field seeking to unseat Bayh. There is speculation that some in the field may choose not to run now that Coats has announced his intentions. Stutzman has a news conference planned later this morning, but has not revealed what he will discuss. Dan Coats served in Congress in the 1980's and 1990's as both a Congressman and Senator. The winner of the Republican primary will need plenty of money to take on Evan Bayh, who has millions of dollars in his campaign war chest.

Coats said, “I felt a call to service throughout my life, whether it was the Army early on or representing the people of Indiana, the ambassador to Germany...these calls keep coming. As I have watched things unfold this past year in Washington under Obama, Pelosi, Reid...I am more than alarmed the way this country is going.”

Candidates must collect at least 500-signatures from registered voters in each of the state's nine congressional districts by February 16th to get on the primary ballot.


Source: http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/84004092.html