Indiana Sen. Dan Coats won't seek re-election

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., will not seek re-election in 2016, setting up a likely crowded primary race to replace him.

Coats, 71, said in a statement Tuesday it's time "to pass this demanding job to the next generation of leaders."

"This was not an easy decision," Coats said in a video statement. "Until the end of my Senate term, I pledge to my constituents that I will continue to focus all of my time and energy on the major challenges that Hoosiers sent me to Washington to address."

Coats had not been raising significant campaign funds but had recently gotten a seat on the influential Senate Finance Committee and the chairmanship of the Joint Economic Committee, a bicameral panel that reviews economic conditions and recommends changes in economic policy.

Former Democratic senator Evan Bayh, who took over the seat from Coats in 1999 and paved the way for Coats' return when Bayh did not seek re-election in 2010, said through a spokesman Tuesday that he is not a candidate for the seat in 2016. Speculation had focused on Bayh as the top Democratic choice because he has $10 million in leftover campaign funds.

Coats' top Indiana aide, former state GOP chairman Eric Holcomb, announced Tuesday he's taking a leave of absence from the job to consider a bid.

Of Indiana's seven Republican House members, only Reps. Luke Messer and Larry Bucshon immediately said they are not considering running.

GOP Rep. Todd Rokita, who has been elected statewide as secretary of state, had the most campaign funds in the bank at the start of the year: $1 million.

A spokesman said Rokita and his wife "will be weighing how best to serve Indiana in the future."

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, who came in second to Coats in the 2010 Senate primary, is also considering running.

"I will declare my candidacy if I feel that is the best place to advance a conservative and reform-minded agenda that will strengthen America both at home and abroad," Stutzman said in a statement.

Although Democrat Joe Donnelly won the 2012 Senate race in Indiana — after Republicans had a divisive primary battle — the race for Coats' seat is still expected to be an uphill battle for Democrats.

Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report, wrote Tuesday that Democrats are not likely to have any of the factors that worked in their favor in 2012. She rated the race likely to stay Republican, unless credible opposition emerges.

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the head of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, expressed confidence that Coats' seat would remain in Republican hands.

"We have a strong Republican bench in Indiana and I am confident we will have another capable Republican joining us in the Senate in 2016 to continue Dan's great work," Wicker said.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said Coats' decision makes Indiana's Senate race one of the most competitive in the country.

"We're confident that we will find a great candidate who will put Indiana first and win this seat in 2016," said Tester, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Before his current term, Coats served 10 years in the Senate and eight years in the House. He chose not to run for re-election in 1998.

Coats was U.S. ambassador to Germany from August 2001 to February 2005. He was also a lobbyist in Washington in between his service in the Senate.

Coats had said he returned to the Senate because of his concern about the economy and the federal budget.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Coats' expertise on economic and national security issues will be missed.

"And I'm going to miss his wise counsel and trusted friendship here in the Senate," McConnell said in a statement.

Although Coats won the GOP nomination in 2010 over the objections of many Tea Party members, a re-election challenge from the right had not appeared imminent.

Former Indiana Rep. David McIntosh, who heads the conservative Club for Growth that helped unseat Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in his unsuccessful re-election campaign, had said last month that Coats was not in the "danger zone."

Asked Tuesday whether the group plans to get involved in the now open primary, Club spokesman Doug Sachtleben said the group will be watching the race as it unfolds.

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