UPDATE: Democrat Beau Bayh launches run for Indiana secretary of state

Democrat Beau Bayh has filed to run for Indiana Secretary of State. (Provided by Bayh's campaign/via Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Beau Bayh filed Monday to continue his families’ political dynasty—following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both former U.S. senators—by running as a Democrat for the Secretary of State’s office.

Bayh, a seventh generation Hoosier and a U.S. Marine Corps captain, pitched his campaign as one to “clean up a broken political system,” targeting incumbent Secretary of State Diego Morales and naming several scandals over the course of his brief political career.

“I was raised in a family of public servants, and I was always taught that public servants serve the people and not themselves,” Bayh told reporters in Indianapolis on Monday. “And too often today in our politics, and in Indianapolis, I see folks in the Statehouse looking out for themselves. And the Secretary of State’s Office is a perfect example of what’s gone wrong.”

In particular, Bayh criticized Morales’ hiring of his brother-in-law to a six-figure position, his international travel and luxury SUV. Rooting out “wasteful spending (and) corruption” would be Bayh’s first task, he said.

“Second, I’m going to work to make sure our elections are secure and fair. No illegal votes, period. But we also should make sure that eligible voters can participate in our democracy,” said Bayh, noting that Indiana ranks 50th in voter participation.

“Third, I’m going to help the thousands of new businesses that are created in our state every year to succeed. I’m going to be a real partner for them, because the person in this office right now is not dealing in good faith. He’s looking out for himself; he’s looking out for his friends. There’s no room for that in our politics.”

At the same time, Bayh called for less division, saying, “We need leaders today in Indiana that bring people together, that find common ground, that reach out to each other when we don’t always agree.”

“I was in the Marine Corps and I can tell you, in the units I led, it didn’t matter where someone came from. It didn’t matter what they looked like and it didn’t matter who they voted for,” Bayh said. “I wouldn’t even ask that question, because it wasn’t important. We came together to achieve a common mission, because that was more important than any of our differences. Especially our political ones.”

The 29-year-old is the second Democrat to announce a campaign for the 2026 election after Blythe Potter, a small business owner who served in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Republican Knox County Clerk Dave Shelton ran against Morales in the 2022 convention but fell short in the final tally. He announced he will run again in April days before Morales posted about his intention to run for reelection. Fellow Republican Jamie Reitenour is also challenging Morales.

Libertarian Lauri Shillings will seek her party’s nomination.

The party nominees will be chosen at conventions in the summer of 2026 by party insiders and then will face off in the fall.

Criticism of Bayh

Morales responded to the news with a social media fundraising post saying, “Beau Bayh is back from the East Coast and looking for votes in Indiana. Democrats spent millions against me in 2022 and it wasn’t close. Let’s make sure it’s not close this time either. Chip in to help us defeat this East Coast liberal.”

Morales has been a lightning rod for controversy in his first term, which began in 2023. He has been criticized for excessive travel, giving no-bid contracts to political donors, hiring his brother-in-law and giving massive bonuses to employees.

Bayh likened Morales’ criticism to a child lashing out after getting a toy taken away.

“He is worried that his personal slush fund, which is his office, is going to be taken away from him. So of course he’s going to react like that,” Bayh said. “He loves paying his brother-in-law $100,000. He loves traveling the world on the taxpayer dime. I’m not going to let that happen.”

Though Morales is the top traveler among statewide officials, none of his taxpayer-funded trips were overseas.

Bayh was born in Indiana, with twin Nick, when his father was governor, and also grew up in Washington, D.C. while his father was in Congress. He attended Harvard University for both his undergraduate and law degree. But he dismissed any notion that he wasn’t a Hoosier, as suggested in Morales’ tweet.

“When do you stop becoming a Hoosier? Being a Hoosier is about your values. Do you look out for people? Do you fight for the little guy? Are you honest? Do you have integrity? That’s what being a Hoosier is,” Bayh said. “I think I have all those values. The Secretary of State does not. I’m a Hoosier through and through.”

Bayh also insisted that the office should be nonpartisan, and said he’d be working with Republicans in the legislature and governor’s office if elected.

“It does not concern me what political party the president comes from, what political party our governor comes from,” said Bayh. “My duty in this office will be to help Hoosiers to make sure our elections are secure and fair. To make sure that businesses can operate the way they need to (and) to make sure that securities fraud is rooted out in our state.”

“That is my goal. I will work with whoever from whatever party to accomplish that.”

Morales has been one of a minority of secretaries of state to fully comply with a federal review of voter data that is explicitly searching for noncitizen voters.

Voting oversight

Other relevant voting oversight issues ahead of 2026 include whether to mandate counties have vote centers, rather than precinct-based voting.

“I understand there’s some cost savings that’s going to happen if we consolidate things into a vote center, but at the same time we want to make sure that people that don’t live near a vote center can access their voting place,” said Bayh. “So there’s trade-offs, and I don’t have a great answer … right now, but it’s something I’m going go give a lot of thought to.”

He acknowledged that on issues such as the use of student identification at polls—which is popular among Democrats—he’d comply with state law, which no longer allows election officials to accept student IDs.

He advocated for not aligning municipal elections with the presidential election cycle, warning that having both at the same time would conflate national and local issues. Additionally, he pushed for the end of straight-ticket voting. Indiana is among a minority of states that allows voters to choose this way.

Another way to increase voter turnout could include longer voting hours, he said.

“One thing that will be a big part of my candidacy: it is time here in Indiana—like our friends in Florida, like our friends in Missouri and our friends in Ohio—that we have a system where we have statewide ballot referendums,” said Bayh.

Such measures in other states have allowed voters to directly weigh in on marijuana legalization or abortion.

“The state Legislature is contemplating doing a partisan redistricting,” Bayh said. “It is overwhelmingly unpopular with the people of this state. Put it to a vote. Let the people decide, not special interests (and) not the party bosses in Washington, D.C.”

President Donald Trump has pressured Republican-led states like Indiana to redistrict mid-cycle to shore up the GOP majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Most recently, Bayh served as a judicial law clerk in Bloomington for Judge David F. Hamilton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a position he held until August of this year.

Beau Bayh follows in the footsteps of his father, who served Indiana in multiple offices for more than 20 years. Evan Bayh’s first office also was as Indiana Secretary of State in 1986. Before that, his grandfather, Birch Bayh, also served in the U.S. Senate for almost 20 years.

Evan Bayh tweeted the news about his son’s candidacy early Monday: ​​“I’m proud to announce that my son, Beau, filed his candidacy for Indiana Secretary of State today. A 7th generation Hoosier, Marine Corps infantry Captain, Harvard graduate, and attorney, Beau will bring new leadership to an office that desperately needs it,” he wrote.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.