Races to Watch: Indiana Senate
One of Roll Call‘s races to watch is the Indiana Senate contest.
Sen. Dick Lugar lost a primary to state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who faces Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. Mourdock found himself in hot water this week over his controversial debate comments about pregnancy resulting from rape.
Roll Call‘s Shira Toeplitz reports:
By now, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock should know when to hold his tongue.
But the Republican Senate nominee, who’s been in Indiana politics for more than two decades, has a habit of speaking freely, frequently.
Many Hoosiers agree with his ideology, but Mourdock’s errors are political. As a result, less than two weeks before Election Day, Mourdock’s greatest hurdle to winning a Senate seat is himself.
“Richard doesn’t really believe in a filter,” said one Hoosier Republican and Mourdock ally, who declined to criticize the nominee on the record. “He is who he is and refuses to compromise for expediency.”
On Tuesday evening, Mourdock described pregnancy that results from rape as “something that God intended to happen” in response to an open-ended question on abortion. He delivered a tearful apology the next day to those who misunderstood his comments, which he described as not “articulate.”
The comments sent the Indiana race into turmoil two weeks before Election Day, just as Mourdock regained his footing against Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) following a rocky September for Republicans nationwide.
Read the full story on RollCall.com.
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