Evan Bayh

Birch Evans Bayh III is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and politician of the Democratic Party who served as the junior United States Senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.

Bayh was first elected to public office as the Secretary of State of Indiana in 1986. He held the position for two years before being elected Governor. He left his office after completing two terms and briefly took a job lecturing at Indiana University Bloomington. He was elected to Congress as a Senator in 1998 and reelected in 2004.

On February 15, 2010, Bayh unexpectedly announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2010. After leaving the Senate, he was replaced by his predecessor, Dan Coats, and became a partner with the law and lobbying firm McGuireWoods in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, and also became a senior adviser with Apollo Global Management. He was a part-time contributor for Fox News from March 2011 to July 2016. In June 2011, he became a messaging adviser for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On October 27, 2011, it was announced that Berry Plastics Corp. had appointed Bayh to its board of directors.

Following the withdrawal of the 2016 Democratic primary winner Baron Hill, Bayh announced that he would be running to take back his old Senate seat from retiring Republican incumbent Dan Coats. He was defeated by Todd Young in the general election by a 10-point margin (52% to 42%).

As a senator, Bayh served on six Senate Committees: Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Armed Services; Energy and Natural Resources; the Select Committee on Intelligence; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and the Special Committee on Aging. From his work to help stimulate the economy through job creation and small business growth to leading the fight to ensure our nations wounded soldiers receive the high-quality care they need, Senator Bayh has provided laser-focused leadership on a wide range of important issues facing the nation.

Bayh recently joined Apollo Global Management, a New York private equity firm, as a senior adviser for public policy. Apollo manages distressed debt deals and has $57.8 billion in assets. In addition, the Washington law firm McGuireWoods LLP announced early this year that the former senator will be serving as a partner and strategic consultant. In this capacity, he will be working as an adviser to the firm's most prominent domestic and international clients who have a stake in Washington's contentious public policy battles.

Senator Bayh also authored From Father to Son, an autobiography about the importance of family and how being the son of a civil servant shaped his values.