While Todd Young received support in three different letters to the editors from LaPorte, Indianapolis, and Muncie and an editorial from Fort Wayne, Evan Bayh is facing criticism from his own hometown paper in two articles in Politico and Politico Pro.

Evan Bayh’s Home State

Politico caught us up on Bayh’s post-Senate activities:

He did carve out a lucrative niche in public advocacy, speaking and corporate board positions that allowed him to wield influence as a former lawmaker with decades of policy experience. Bayh sought to sway public policy to favor clients of McGuireWoods, the law and lobbying firm where he has worked since 2011, as well as other groups he affiliated with while out of office."

The article goes on to outline "Bayh’s missing five years" when he left Indiana and cashed in on a job at a DC lobbying firm. Bayh said in one of his ads, "Lobby? No way," but the article outlines the many votes and actions of Congress he influenced, ranging from Obamacare to the nuclear energy industry. Hmm…

If he wasn’t lobbying, it seems extremely similar to it.

Evan Bayh now desperately needs to be saved by his neighbors, the DSCC and Senate Majority PAC. They’re adding an additional $3.5 million than originally planned:

"The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee now plans to spend at least $5 million in Indiana, a media-tracking source confirmed Tuesday, as Democrat Evan Bayh’s once-dominant lead over Republican Todd Young has narrowed rapidly in the race considered a key part of Democrats’ strategy to take the Senate majority."

The DSCC isn’t the only group hitting the panic buttion, though.

"Meanwhile, Senate Majority PAC — the super PAC dedicated to electing Democrats to the Senate — is adding an additional $1 million to their initial spending, bring its total ad reservation to $1.7 million in Indiana, a spokesman said."

Once called a "slam dunk" for Democrats, the Indiana Senate seat is costing Democrats a lot more than they bargained for.

Todd Young’s Home State

Fort Wayne News-Sentinel Editorial Board wrote:

"It was going to be so easy…Slam dunk. But it hasn’t worked out quite that way."

They reported on Bayh – who they called "the insider’s insider" – and his nose dive in the polls due to the discovery of what he’s been up to these past few years:

"Young, with a lot of help from outside conservative groups, has been hitting Bayh hard on his post-Senate ties to a lobbying firm and questions about his Indiana residency. As a result, Young’s name recognition has soared, and Bayh went from a double-digit lead in August to a 4-point edge, within the margin of error, in a WTHR/Howey Politics poll earlier this month."

They also outlined a few other reasons he’s plummeting in the polls:

"One of his ads boasts that he would work with both sides of the aisle to “fix Obamacare,” but he was one of the strongest supporters of Obamacare. That makes him not just an insider but a clueless insider.

"And it doesn’t help that his Indiana non-residency, except for a pretend condo in Indianapolis, has been so obvious."

In a Times of Northwest Indiana letter to the editor, Nick Barbknecht said:

"Evan Bayh is a career politician who abandoned his home state, and we can’t forget that.

"Bayh left the U.S. Senate and our state to work in a major lobbying firm in D.C. in 2011. It is now 2016, and he has been out of touch with Hoosiers.

"Young is a Marine veteran who thoughtfully fights for Hoosiers. I had lunch in Michigan City with him just a few weeks ago while he talked with a local veteran who fought back tears as he told Young about his troubles with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Young began working right away to solve the veteran’s problems with the VA and ensure he received proper care.

Young works for Hoosiers. Bayh works for D.C."

Hoosiers know Todd Young is the candidate who not only knows Indiana better, but he actually cares about Indiana.

Jim Sullivan compared Todd Young and Evan Bayh in the Johnson County Daily Journal:

"Evan Bayh is not who many Hoosiers think he is! Don’t be fooled!"

…

"Leaving the Senate, Bayh joined the same moneyed interests that he bemoaned as having too great an influence on the Senate. Now he’s pulling down six-figure salaries from big time lobbying firms.

"In contrast, Todd Young is real, genuine and forthright. He is a disciplined leader who has never left Indiana. A Naval Academy graduate, Todd Young put on a uniform and pledged to serve and protect our nation and her people in the U.S. Marine Corps. He knows what it means to put country above himself."

The comparison is very clear for this Hoosier:

"Young is one of us! He’s a Hoosier who will make an excellent senator. The time has come to move on, look forward and choose a new, real and proven leader! Bayh had his chance he left it and us behind. He chose the Potomac when he could have had the Wabash. It’s time for new leadership in the Senate, leadership that actually cares about Hoosiers! It’s time for Todd Young!"

Michael McKnight of Muncie wrote to The Herald Bulletin:

"We know that while Bayh was living the high life in his D.C. mansions paid for with money made from lobbying for the same big banks that almost destroyed the economy, completely oblivious to the struggles faced by we hard-working Hoosiers, that Young was in the Congress going to battle every day for all of us."

McKnight knows Bayh can try to lie about his last five years all he wants, but Hoosiers are smart enough to vote for one of their own – not a Washingtonian.

"We have a crucial decision to make in just a few short weeks. Either we will be the mindless sheep they believe us to be and out of reflex choose the name we recognize or we can be the thoughtful, independent, and hard-working citizens we really are and elect a new voice with new ideas and the courage and strength to fight for them. My fellow Hoosiers, I implore you this November, vote for change, vote for bold ideas, vote for Todd Young for Senate."

The Contrast Is Clear

While Evan Bayh might only be able to see the bad Politico headlines on his front stoop every morning, Hoosiers all over Indiana are making their own headlines with only more bad news for Bayh. They are over him just as much as he is over Indiana.