There was a very interesting piece in the New York Times today on the sons of politics past. The story focuses on Chet Culver (D-IA), son of former Senator John C. Culver (D-IA), Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), son of former Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) and Jack Carter (D-NV), son of President Jimmy Carter (D-GA). I thought power skipped a generation. I guess not. Oh, that’s twins. Either way, very interesting story, worth the read!

In the history of the Democratic Party, the election of 1980 looms large: the year the party lost the White House, the Senate, a generation of Midwestern liberals and, in some ways, its confidence that it was the natural, even inevitable, majority party.

Now, that election has a sequel.

Call it the return of the sons: Chet Culver, the Iowa secretary of state and the son of former Senator John C. Culver, is running for governor of Iowa. Senator Evan Bayh, son of former Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, is organizing and testing the waters for a possible presidential bid in 2008. And Jack Carter, the son of former President Jimmy Carter, has decided at the age of 59 to run an uphill race for the Senate in Nevada, his first foray into electoral politics.

Read the rest of the story here.