The Washington Times
5/8/2012
Tea-party-backed candidate Richard Mourdock defeated longtime Sen. Richard G. Lugar in the Indiana GOP primary Tuesday, ending the career of one of the chamber’s two senior Republicans and giving Democrats a better chance at capturing the seat in November.
The race was widely seen as a key test of tea party anger against incumbents, two years after that same sentiment disrupted a number of Republican races and powered insurgent candidates to wins across the country.
Already, a challenger in Utah said the race is a model for his bid to unseat Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, another veteran senator who is facing anger for his record of trying to work with Democrats in the Senate.
The Club for Growth, a free-market group that poured millions of dollars into the race to defeat Mr. Lugar, told other Republicans to be warned…
…Democrats saw Mr. Lugar’s defeat as an unexpected opportunity. Polls show their candidate, Rep. Joe Donnelly, would have lost to Mr. Lugar, but is running neck-and-neck with Mr. Mourdock. The state party was quick to pounce as soon as results were announced Tuesday evening…
The complete article is at The Washington Times.
