Trump Jr. Targets Beau Bayh in Indiana Secretary of State Race After Poll Shows Bayh Leading by 8
Donald Trump Jr. attacked Democrat Beau Bayh on X after a Bellwether Research/Free Press Indiana poll showed Bayh leading Republican Max Engling by 8 points, the most decisive lead in a race that had been neck-and-neck.
Donald Trump Jr. attacked Beau Bayh, the Democratic candidate for Indiana secretary of state, in an X post on Friday, the same day a new poll showed Bayh leading Republican Max Engling by 8 points in what would typically be a low-profile race.
“Conservatives across the Hoosier State need to support @MaxForIndiana for Indiana Secretary of State,” Trump Jr. wrote. “His opponent is just another leftist radical cosplaying as a moderate. Don’t fall for it!!!!”
The Bellwether Research/Free Press Indiana poll, conducted earlier this month among more than 800 likely voters, showed Bayh ahead with only 11 percent of voters undecided, according to the Indianapolis Star. It is the most decisive lead of the race so far: previous internal polls released by the campaigns showed the two candidates neck-and-neck.
A race that could end a 14-year drought
If Bayh wins, it would hand Democrats their first statewide office victory in Indiana since 2012. The Indianapolis Star noted that national polls indicate Democrats could get a boost in the November general election, and that cleaning up corruption, the issue Bayh has built his messaging around, is voters’ top priority in the poll.
Bayh has worked to present himself as a moderate, running ads that stress his background as a U.S. Marine and his anti-corruption message. There is reason for his campaign to be cautious about the numbers, however: in years past, polls have given Indiana Democrats narrow leads only for candidates to lose decisively on Election Day, the Star reported.
The race also includes Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings, giving voters four options on the ballot.
Reporting based on coverage by the Indianapolis Star.
