Evan Bayh was born in 1955 and grew up largely in Shirkieville, Indiana, the son of Senator Birch Bayh and grandson of basketball coach Birch Bayh Sr. He attended St. Albans School in Washington, earned a business degree at Indiana University Bloomington and a law degree at the University of Virginia, and clerked for U.S. District Judge James Noland. In 1986 he survived a Republican challenge to his state residency and won the Indiana secretary of state race with 53 percent. Two years later he beat Lieutenant Governor John Mutz to become, at 33, the youngest governor in the nation, ending 20 years of Republican control. He won reelection in 1992 with 63 percent and left office with approval near 80 percent.

In 1998 Bayh won his father’s old Senate seat with 64 percent, the largest margin for a Democrat in an Indiana Senate race, and chaired the Democratic Leadership Council. In 2008 he was on Barack Obama’s vice presidential shortlist, and campaign manager David Plouffe later said the choice came down to a coin toss with Joe Biden, though Obama’s memoir leaves Bayh out. In February 2010, one day before the filing deadline, he announced he would not seek a third term. He then joined McGuireWoods and Apollo Global Management. His 2016 comeback collapsed over questions about his residency, and he lost to Todd Young by nearly 10 points, the first defeat of his career.

• His 21st Century Scholars program promised eighth graders free college tuition if they kept their grades up and stayed out of trouble.
• In 2002 he stood in the Rose Garden with President George W. Bush to announce the Iraq war resolution.
• In 2010 he voted to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
• His wife Susan sat on corporate boards including Eli Lilly and Anthem while he served in the Senate.
• In 2016 records showed him listed as an inactive Indiana voter, and he gave a reporter the wrong address for his Indianapolis condo.