We've Gotta Talk About Beau Bayh
Indiana Democrats' White Knight OR Just Another Ivy League Nepo Baby?
Alright Indiana. It’s official. So we have to talk about it.
In a break from the usual diet of AI slop and right-wing rage bait, the algorithm decided today that I really needed to know the worst-kept secret in politics since Lindsey Graham’s sexuality - Beau Bayh is going to be handed seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for Indiana Secretary of State in 2026.
After months of touring the party dinner circuit, the 29-year-old son and grandson of United States Senators officially announced the launch of his campaign Monday in an exclusive interview with IndyStar opinion editor and professional false equivalency artist James Briggs, with the social media onslaught following in short order.
Now, I’ve made a couple mildly-critical social media posts in the lead-up to this inevitable declaration and gotten some pushback from the “vote blue no matter who” crowd, but have been withholding my complete thoughts until now.
So first, let me state - this is not personal.
I don’t know Beau Bayh. I’m sure he’s a good kid. He graduated with a law degree from a prestigious university and served our country in uniform. Congratulations and thank you for your service.
But this isn’t about Beau - this is about all the things he represents.
“He’s so qualified,” they say.
Ivy League education? Check!
Military Service? Check!
Name recognition? Check!
Access to a wealthy donor network? Check!
Used family connections to secure a clerkship with a equally-well-connected federal judge from another prominent Indiana political family? Check and check!
Do these accomplishments count as “qualifications” or are they a series of notches in a particularly expensive belt? OOH! Is that crocodile leather?
My litmus test for political hopefuls in this era consists of ONE qualification - can you speak to the material conditions of the average person?
I’m not sure Bayh meets that criteria.
Look, I’ve spent my entire life watching soft-handed Ivy League-educated legacy kids run this country so poorly as to make authoritarianism appealing to a large swathe of the population.
Donald Trump? Ivy-league educated nepo baby.
Mike Braun? Ivy-league educated nepo baby.
George W. Bush? Ivy-league educated nepo baby of an Ivy league-educated nepo baby.
RFK Jr? Likewise.
Are you beginning to see a pattern? I think it’s completely reasonable to be wary of this archetype. I mean have you seen that movie Multiplicity with Michael Keaton? When you start cloning the clones, you run into unintended glitches.
“Is it because he comes from money?”
YES!
Is that disqualifying in and of itself? No!
The greatest American president even, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was a child of privilege and grew up to be the kind of class traitor we needed to save this country from depression and fascism. Currently, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker - himself a billionaire and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune - shows some of that same spirit (though I maintain a healthy skepticism).
Beau has given no indication to this point that he possesses such an authentic populist streak, offering nothing more than empty platitudes in his public statements.
Bayh used the word “gosh” nine times during our conversation, perhaps a tell that he is either consciously or subconsciously positioning himself as an everyman populist in contrast to his pedigree.
Bayh sidestepped questions about his political orientation within the Democratic Party while embracing his family’s most universally praised accomplishments. […]
“We have a diverse state in a lot of ways and one of those ways is politically,” Bayh says. “True leadership is taking a group of people from every walk of life, from every political background and finding things that we can agree on and bring people together.”
That’s the message you’ll likely hear over and over from Bayh. Nonpartisan. Public service. Marines! Fighting corruption.
With vapid bromides like that, it’s hard to know what you’re getting behind, so all we have to go on is the company he keeps: his tired, Blue Dog corporate lobbyist old man - and stumbling, bumbling, sexual assault-enabling Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
And frankly, back-slapping and sharing the stage with Hogsett at this point makes me question one’s judgment.
So, until we find out what the kid actually believes, I have to assume Beau Bayh consists of nothing more than a very large bag of donor class cash smuggled in beneath an admittedly very nice looking meat suit.
Care to prove me wrong? There’s a virtual studio chair with your name on it. If you want to win this race, you’ll need to convince the base of the party first.
The Bayhs are good people and it does not hurt that there is name recognition. I would have been happier if he chose a lower level office first and spent time learning more about how the state government functions first. But good for him to jump in and try!
Beau spent the first 30 years of his life, getting ready for public service. I worked for his grandfather, who was a perfect liberal, and his father, who was less so - but they all shared an honest desire to serve. Beau could go anywhere and make lotsa money - but he’s choosing to serve. Reminds me of another Hoosier we know!
I am thankful that ANYone wants to run for office. I prefer to talk to people and try to help them with their messaging rather than critiquing their lineage or judging them before they can show their stuff. Beau will be treated no differently. And yes - he has got what it takes to WIN against this corrupt administration. Count me in.