The storyline for the U.S. Senate race in Indiana runs askew of most nationwide narratives of the upcoming election. While many states are embroiled in hotly contested races that combine anti-incumbent sentiments with a general dissatisfaction in the progress of the controlling Democratic party, Indiana stands alone.

Republican Dan Coats is holding a double-digit lead in most polls over Democratic challenger Rep. Brad Ellsworth. Neither of them are incumbents—they’re vying to fill Democrat Evan Bayh’s seat, who chose not to seek reelection—and both of them are known political figures in the state.

Coats was an Indiana senator throughout the 1990s, and Ellsworth is currently serving as the representative of Indiana’s 8th district.

“I don’t want someone to do things, I want someone to undo things,” said J.B. Dearing, owner of Ollie’s Sports Bar in Evansville, Indiana. He doesn’t hesitate to pledge his allegiance to Coats in this election, but he admits he distrusts most politicians. “I’m voting against the greater of two evils here."

Interestingly, in a year when tea party style grass root activism has given boosts to many outsider candidates, voters in Indiana apparently haven’t minded Coats’ history as a lobbyist.

Campaign commercials for the Republican have hammered away at Ellsworth’s support of the congressional bailout of the financial industry, as well as Obama’s stimulus and healthcare bills, both of which are highly unpopular in the state.

Ads for Ellsworth counter by portraying Coats as an insider, and one who helped lobby for the very kinds of financial bailouts he now opposes.

Commonalities across the two candidates lie in the conservative realm, as both candidates have voiced opposition to pro-environmental legislation. Coal and ethanol are major employers and economic wheelhouses in the state, and many view the push for higher emission standards and renewable energy to be damaging in these trouble economic times.

Reach Tom Dotan here.