US Senate candidate Marlin Stutzman is on the air early with his first TV ad.  The Republican primary also includes tea party organizer Richard Behney and financial services executive Don Bates, Jr.

Stutzman is a State Senator from LaGrange County who was the underdog winner of a party caucus to replace Sen. Bob Meeks.  Prior to serving in the State Senate, he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2002 after winning a come-from-behind race against Democrat incumbent Dale Sturtz.

The conventional wisdom early on in the race against Sen. Evan Bayh was that for Republicans to win they needed a candidate who could go dollar for dollar with him.   That’s easier said than done.  Bayh has a lot of dollars, like twelve million of them.  Most of that money, 85% of it in fact, has come from outside of the state.  I’m just saying.

Operating on the assumption that only money could win, Republicans recruited self-funded candidates who spent the summer mulling it over before opting out.  While they were thinking about running, Marlin hit the road and has put thousands of miles on his trademark campaign bus building a grassroots, bottom up organization that can win.

The conventional wisdom is starting to pivot in Marlin’s favor.  If Republicans are going to defeat Bayh, who has spent a career in self-service rather than public service, maybe the guy who can make the case for change isn’t another millionaire, but the conservative farmer from LaGrange County who has a history of winning unwinnable races.

Here’s Marlin’s ad:

You can keep tabs on Marlin at GoMarlin.com