A new Rasmussen poll on the emerging Indiana Senate race showed Democrat Senator Evan Bayh losing ground fast to a field of potential Republican challengers.  It also showed that Gov. Mitch Daniels is popular… really popular.

In 2008, Barack Obama narrowly carried Indiana with 50% of the vote. However, just 43% of Hoosier voters currently approve of the way Obama is performing his role as president. That decline is consistent with the national trend as measured in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Fifty-six percent (56%) of Indiana voters now disapprove of the president’s performance. The current figures include 16% who Strongly Approve and 48% who Strongly Disapprove.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels earns approval from 70% of the state’s voters while 29% disapprove. Those figures include 35% who Strongly Approve and 12% who Strongly Disapprove. — Rasmussen