INDIANAPOLIS -- Does Evan Bayh really live in Indiana?
It's a question his Republican opponent, Rep. Todd Young, jumped on immediately once Bayh unexpectedly joined the state's U.S. Senate race last month. And now a new report by CNN is throwing fuel on the fire.
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A story posted to CNN's website Monday morning by Senior Political Reporter Manu Raju details numerous instances in which Bayh reportedly listed one of his two Washington D.C. homes as his residence, instead of the condo he owns in Indianapolis.
As Raju notes, similar residency questions helped former Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock unseat long-time Senator Dick Lugar in the Republican Primary. Mourdock eventually lost the general election to Democrat Joe Donnelly.
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Paperwork Bayh filed in July to enter the Senate race lists his address as his north side condo, and states that he is a registered voter in Washington Township.
The CNN report could bolster Young's efforts to paint Bayh as a Washington insider. Young's campaign ads have called Bayh a "super lobbyist," and also frequently as the "deciding vote on Obamacare."
(The claim has become a familiar one for Republicans running against incumbent Democrats in the Senate. According to our fact-checking partners at Politifact, Sen. Ron Johnson made the same claim about Democrat Russ Feingold, Republican Ken Cuccinelli called Democratic Sen. Mark Warner the "tiebreaking vote" on Obamacare, and, "in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Missouri, conservatives charged that Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow, Bob Casey and Claire McCaskill, respectively, were each 'the deciding vote,' Politifact's Sean Gorman reported.)
Young, now facing an unexpectedly difficult election against veteran campaigner Bayh, has tried to paint himself as the "contrast" candidate.
"I'm a Marine. I'm a Hoosier. I'm facing someone who calls Washington home and, frankly, has become Washington over the years," Young told RTV6. "And there's going to be a contrast there, and I like my chances."
Baych campaign communication director Ben Ray released the following statement to RTV6 on Monday:
"Evan Bayh is a fifth generation Hoosier and has a record of distinction as Indiana's Senator and Governor. Evan lives in Indiana and pays his taxes in Indiana, unlike Congressman Young, who has fraudulently taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax deductions for a home he didn't live in in Indiana. Hoosiers know and trust Evan Bayh and will not fall for this cover up by our opponent."
