Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) held off former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) in his quest to return to the upper chamber as they faced off to fill retiring Sen. Dan Coats’ (R-Ind.) seat.
With 74 percent of precincts reporting, Young led Bayh 52-42 percent.
The polls only recently — as in the past week — started to swing in Young’s favor. And the win could swing the race for party power in the Senate in the Republicans’ favor as well.
“Senator-elect @ToddYoungIN is a man of character whose leadership and conservative values will serve Hoosiers well in the Senate,” tweeted Coats.
“I’m going to wake up every day as your next United States Senator, everyday with one mission in mind: figure out how I can best serve the interests of this state and its great people,” Young said in his victory speech.
Fun fact: Todd Young, who defeated Evan Bayh, is married to the niece of Dan Quayle, who defeated Birch Bayh.
— Maureen Groppe (@mgroppe) November 9, 2016