WASHINGTON – Rep. Baron Hill, D-9th, said Thursday he will decide in a week or two whether to press his candidacy for the Democratic Senate nomination.

He said it will be based on two things – how much support he has among the 32 people who will make the decision and whether he thinks he could do more for southeast Indiana residents in the House or in the Senate.

The Indiana Democratic Party’s 32-member leadership will select a nominee to fill the vacancy created when Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., announced he won’t run again.

Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-8th, has said he wants to be considered. But Hill, who was in Afghanistan when Bayh made his surprise announcement, said he is "trying to do this week what I wasn’t able to do last week."

Hill said he has called most of the 32 members of the Democratic Party central committee. Of them, he said, most are not taking sides. But Hill said the ones who have said they have a preference are evenly split.

However, he said, "I’ve had people tell me initially that they were uncommitted and have since come on board."

Hill said he didn’t have a head count.

"I’ve been so busy making phone calls that I haven’t had a chance to make a tally," he said.

Hill said he agrees that it would be better if one candidate emerged as the choice, "but I need to weigh my support. If I have the votes on the committee, than that’s the reality Brad would have to face. If I don’t have the votes on the committee, that’s the reality I’d have to face.

"If I can’t figure that out in the next week or so, then I have to make a decision one way or the other.… Everyone’s trying to think this thing through, including myself."

He declined to say whether he thinks he’d be a better candidate than Ellsworth.

"The decision I’m making is: Can I be a more effective voice in the House or more effective voice as one member of the Senate? That’s the major reason that I’ll judge as whether or not I’ll run. I’ve had the ability to move up in the ranks in the House. That counts for something. That means I can be a more effective voice for my constituents in southeast Indiana.

"If I felt like I could be as much or even more as a member of the Senate, that would be the biggest factor I would consider in making a decision.… With their rules, you can do a lot more things as a member of the Senate than you’re allowed to do in the House. For example, you can hold up nominations the president makes with just one voice. I am trying to determine whether that’s a better deal for me in terms of representing the people back home, or (are) my experiences and relationships in the House."

sylviasmith@jg.net