Scott takes on Bayh in senatorial race

Sitting in the lobby of the Indiana Memorial Union, Marvin Scott, eloquently spoke about the last few months on the campaign trail. Scott, who is the Republican Party candidate running for the Indiana Senatorial seat, is up against the Democratic incumbent Sen. Evan Bayh. \n"I have had life experiences that have prepared me for the Senate seat," Scott said. "I have been a consultant for Gulf Oil and I have traveled six of the world's seven continents. I have also traveled all over South America."\nScott has been to all 92 counties in Indiana in the last 17 months and has driven 74,000 miles in the last year. He has run for office unsuccessfully four previous times. He ran for the U.S House of Representatives in 1994 against Andy Jacobs and in 2000 against Julia Carson. In 1996 and 1998, his name was in the running at the state Republican convention but did not make the nomination.\nHe said his time spent as a university president required him to develop the flexibility to come up with new ideas. According to Scott's campaign Web site, Scott served as president of Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Va., in the late 1980s.\nScott said Bayh does have a psychological advantage in the race because he has spent time in an elected office. \n"In any given day, an opponent can be defeated," Scott said.\nAccording to his campaign fliers, Scott opposes same-sex marriage and is against abortion.\n"Bayh does not represent the will of the people of Indiana on the issue of same-sex marriage," Scott said. "The Indianapolis Star did a poll two weeks ago saying 81 percent of the state was opposed to same-sex marriage, and 19 percent were in favor." \nScott went on to say Bayh recently voted in favor of it.\nWhen it comes to raising money for his campaign, Scott has mixed feelings on rules and regulations that limit the amount his campaign can take in.\n"The McCain-Feingold statutes have been a positive and a negative. I can get up to $2,000 in support for the primary and $2,000 in the general election. That is more than was allowed before," Scott said. "However, I cannot advertise with local candidates."\nAccording to the Hoover Institution's Campaign Finance Web site, the McCain-Feingold-Cochran Campaign Reform Bill prohibits all soft money contributions to national political parties from corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals. State parties permitted under state law to accept soft money cannot spend it on federal election campaigns. The bill was passed last year as a federal law.\nScott said that despite this stumbling block, the response to his campaign by people in the state has been warm.\n"We have raised $1.85 million for the campaign," Scott said.\nOn top of raising money for his own campaign, Scott has put an emphasis on Indiana's economy.\nRecently Indiana's Department of Commerce has been advancing the high-growth industries of advanced manufacturing, distribution, high-technology and life sciences within the state. \nScott said he was in favor of this goal.\n"I have been talking with some trucking firms, and I am closely allied with the Indiana rail system," Scott said. "Indiana is centrally located and can be a larger distribution area. Trucking is in peril. The Mexican drivers are now in this country. They are going to start taking loads that many Indiana drivers want, and the farmers will suffer. When free market gets in the way of insuring that Americans are able to afford a life, then we need to rethink some of what we do."\nWith President Bush's national tax cut legislation currently being considered for a permanent extension, Scott said he supports the president's outlook.\n"The president's tax decrease is the one stimulus in the state of Indiana that has kept the economy afloat," Scott said.\nScott currently works at Butler University in Indianapolis where he has spent the last 13 years as a sociology professor. Scott's campaign Web site claims he is a supporter of school choice education programs. \n"I am in favor of home-schooling and charter schools," Scott said. "We need more able-bodied instructors in the classroom, and we need to pay them more. The National Education Association, who supports democratic causes, is an abomination. They should be politically neutral and work only for the betterment of young people. If I were elected, I would propose to eliminate the gas tax in order to provide more funding to education."\nTodd Tolson, campaign manager for Scott's campaign, has been a consultant in Washington, D.C., for two and a half years. He said he became interested in helping with the Scott campaign when he found out more about Sen. Bayh and his opinions on the issues.\n"Bayh talks about the issues but does not follow through. When Scott talks the talk, he walks the walk," Tolson said. "We need people with real-world experience in government, especially people who understand budgets. Also, his experience as a teacher will help because teachers have to know how to deal with all types of people."\nHowever, Democratic Party members do not see Scott as a threat to their candidate. Dan Combs, chairperson of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said there is not much of a race.\n"Bayh has never lost an election in the state of Indiana," Combs said. "He possesses the biggest name in state politics, much like his father." \nMatt Weber, secretary of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said in an e-mail that Scott's core challenge is that Hoosiers are not familiar with his experience and background. \n"Given Bayh's long record of accomplishments, bipartisan support and high approval ratings, a win for Scott seems unlikely," Weber said.\nAccording to the Indiana Secretary of State's Web site, there are a little more than 4 million registered voters in the state, 304,267 people voted for Bayh in the state Democratic Primary, while 335,215 people voted for Scott in the state Republican primary.\nSenatorial elections will be held Nov. 2, the same day as the presidential election.\n-- Contact staff writer Karen Yancey at kaeyance@indiana.edu.