the second Hoosier to be Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1951. In the 1980s, Evan Bayh became a popular figure within the Indiana Democratic Party as well as the state of Indiana. A young governor elected in 1988, Bayh was later elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998. Bayh's two terms as governor, along with his lieutenant governor Frank O'Bannon's own gubernatorial years, resulted in a budget surplus, tax cuts and increased funding for education and health insurance for the poor. Long considered a moderate, Bayh was rumored to be a top pick for Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee in 2008, but the spot ended up going to Delaware Senator Joe Biden. 21st century Following O'Bannon's death in 2003, Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan succeeded him in office. Kernan lost the 2004 gubernatorial election to Republican Mitch Daniels, ending sixteen years of Democratic control of the Governor's Mansion. Democrats lost attempts to regain the office in 2008, 2012 (when former Speaker of the State House of Representatives John Gregg narrowly lost to U.S. Representative and future Vice President Mike Pence), and 2016 (when Gregg was again defeated, despite leading in the polls heading into election day). Bayh, who had represented Indiana in the U.S. Senate since 1999, was reelected overwhelmingly in 2004 even as Republican George W. Bush carried the state in the presidential race. Bayh declined run again in 2010, resulting in Republicans gaining the seat, and was defeated in his bid for a non-consecutive third term in 2016. Republican control of both U.S. Senate seats from Indiana was ended when Joe Donnelly won the 2012 election, defeating controversial Republican candidate Richard Mourdock. Donnelly sought reelection in 2018, campaigning on his willingness to compromise with President Donald Trump, but was defeated by Mike Braun. The latest Democrat, to have garnered national recognition, was Pete Buttigieg, for his presidential bid in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. He received 21 pledged delegates, the first openly gay candidate to ever win so many. He suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020, after a poor showing in the 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary. Democratic candidate J. D. Ford became the first openly gay Hoosier elected to the Indiana Senate following his 2018 victory over Mike Delph, to whom he had narrowly lost a State Senate bid four years earlier. State Senator Greg Taylor became the first Black lawmaker elected as