Richard Mourdock - 2012 U.S. Senate Election

2012 U.S. Senate Election

See also: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2012 and Rape and pregnancy controversies in United States elections, 2012

On February 22, 2011, Mourdock announced he would challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Lugar in the 2012 Republican primary. At the announcement, Mourdock criticized Lugar for his support of the auto bailouts, his votes in favor of the Dream Act and the START treaty and his opposition to earmark reform. He said Indiana needed a senator who would return home to hold town halls, and not "a globe-trotting Senator", like Lugar. Mourdock later criticized Lugar's record on bipartisanship, his authorship of the 1991 Nunn-Lugar Act to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, and the 2006 expansion of the legislation to cover conventional weapons stockpiles and secure loose nukes. He called Lugar "President Obama's favorite Republican", referring to an October 2008 MSNBC article titled, "Barack Obama's favorite Republican?", which had described Lugar as a "loyal Republican" while reporting on a 10-day international trip Lugar and then-Senator Obama had taken in 2005 to inspect weapons sites.

At the time he announced his candidacy, Mourdock released a list of 12 Republican state central committee members and 67 GOP county chairs who endorsed him; he soon began gathering tea party support as well. He spoke at over two dozen local tea party gatherings across Indiana where he gained name recognition and support. At a 2011 local tea party convention in Greenfield, Indiana, Mourdock received 96 of the 97 straw poll votes cast. In the week before the primary, political action groups such as FreedomWorks, the NRA, National Right to Life, and 45 local tea party groups held a get-out-the-vote rally for Mourdock that was attended by 500 tea party members along with Reverend C.L. Bryant, Deneen Borelli, and FOX News political commentator Michelle Malkin. Mourdock addressed the rally praising the support he had been given by FreedomWorks and similar groups, and adding that the tea party movement was very much alive "showing up to work for campaigns."

During the primary campaign, tea party-backed organizations such as Liberty News Network and America ReFocused campaigned door to door, sent out mailers and helped sponsor TV and radio ads. Mourdock's largest contributor was the Club for Growth which accounted for 40% of all outside spending, contributing $2.2 million. According to campaign finance records, some of Mourdock's other top donors and the respective amounts they have contributed are the NRA, $491,000; Citizens United Political Victory Fund, $96,300; and FreedomWorks For America, $437,184.

On May 8, 2012, Mourdock defeated Lugar in the primary, capturing just over 60% of the vote. Mourdock's victory was attributed in part to voter dissatisfaction with Lugar's moderate record as well as his absence from Indiana; he had not had a residence in the state since 1977. During his concession speech, Lugar criticized Mourdock for having an "unrelenting partisan mind-set" and predicted he would be an ineffective legislator; Mourdock in turn, praised Lugar's record of public service. Indiana political analyst Brian Howey ascribed Mourdock's primary win to Republican voters' belief that Lugar was too old and that he had been in Congress too long. Howey also said that "Just 15% ... voted for Mourdock because of his Tea Party ideology."

Mourdock faced Democratic nominee Joe Donnelly and Libertarian nominee Andy Horning in the general election. Mourdock said that if elected to the Senate, he would limit himself to two terms.

Mourdock has been endorsed by several conservative interest groups, including the Americans for prosperity, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, Citizens United and the Tea Party Express, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and Indiana Right to life. During the general election campaign, millions of dollars were spent by outside groups supporting both Mourdock and his opponent, Donnelley. Only three other US Senate races reportedly attracted more outside money.

Mourdock lost to Democratic nominee Joe Donnelly in the general election, greatly hampered by his comment that "a gift from God" and shouldn't be terminated.