IN-Sen: Coats retiring

[Mister Mets]

Bayh would be strong, but he wasn't interested in being a Senator when his party had congressional majorities in the White House.

Democrats will have to consider whether they'd prefer running against Pence or a natonalized federal election, so this might not appeal to their best candidates.

I'm sure Republicans have a good bench. The party has to make sure they don't nominate a Mourdoch. Ideally, this would be a Republican version of the Michigan 2014 Senate race, where the party kept the seat with an inoffensive qualified candidate.

[Mister Mets]

Holcomb is running and has Coats' support.

Has someone been elected to major statewide office based on their qualifications as a former staffer?

Susan Collins is close, although she had been the party's nominee for Governor in the previous cycle (the primary seems to be a weak field, and she finished third in the General Election to Angus King and a former Democratic Governor.)