Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) missed more than three-quarters of hearings while serving in the Senate Armed Services Committee, BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday.
{mosads}Bayh was a member of the influential committee between 2003 and 2011, starting with the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. After retiring from the Senate in 2011, Bayh is running this year to reclaim his old seat.
During the period between Jan. 1 and April 9 of 2003, Bayh attended only five of the committee’s 24 hearings, BuzzFeed reported. The U.S. invasion of Iraq began March 20 of that year.
And on the day of the 2003 invasion, Bayh missed a hearing on a defense spending bill but attended an “informal breakfast” and fundraising reception, the report said.
Bayh is facing Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) in the race to replace retiring Sen. Dan Coats (R). Democrats were counting on Bayh’s name recognition to help them gain a Senate seat as they look to reclaim control of the chamber this fall.
Bayh’s campaign has faced extensive criticism since its launch, particularly over his place of residence. In an August press conference, the former senator recited his address incorrectly to a reporter.
Earlier this month, an Associated Press report found that Bayh spent his last year in Congress job hunting.
Bayh spokesman Ben Ray pushed back against the report, telling BuzzFeed that Young “either didn’t show or didn’t speak at more than 80% of his Armed Services hearings.”
“The documents being provided to press by a political opponent of Evan’s in the final days before an election are at best incomplete and not reliable sources of information on how his time was spent,” Ray said.
Young’s campaign manager slammed the Bayh campaign for its allegations.
“The only thing more appalling than suggesting Todd doesn’t care about his brothers and sisters in uniform is that Evan Bayh was on a plane bound for a personal ski vacation as those same American troops first entered harm’s way in Iraq,” Trevor Foughty told BuzzFeed.
Bayh leads Young by 3.7 points in a RealClearPolitics polling average.