Thread: Dick Lugar Loses, in Major Blow to Obama

Indiana GOP Primary: LIVE Results, Dick Lugar Loses, in Major Blow to Obama

Jake Horowitz
11 minutes ago

Republican Senator Richard Lugar is battling for his political survival against a Tea Party-backed GOP challenger in Tuesday's Indiana primary, and the face of Indiana politics for almost four decades is likely to be defeated.

Polls in Indiana signaled momentum for Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock, but Lugar is still clinging to hope that a large turnout may propel him to victory.

"If they come, we will win," Lugar said.

PolicyMic will be live blogging the Indiana primary. Polls close at 7:00pm EST. Refresh this page for live updates.

UPDATES: 7:44 PM EST Starting to tighten up in the polls. Reports coming in that Lugar now at 40.2 percent of the vote, trails Mourdock by approximately 50K votes.

7:37 EST: Via Stewart Burns: "Will the sun really come up tomorrow? It seems likely that when I wake up in the morning, once one of the brightest shining leaders in the world, Senator Richard Lugar, will be on his way out of office. The Tea Party, their candidate Richard Mourdock and the millions of dollars coming in from national organization have taken down an icon."

7:32 EST: With 20% reporting, Mourdock leads by a wide margin: 60.8% compared to Lugar's 39.6%.

7:30 EST With 20% reporting, Mitt Romney is on his way to defeating Ron Paul in Indiana by a current total of 64% to Paul's 14.6%

7:15 EST On the ground report from Nick DeBoer, Purdue University Class of 2011

"I live on the campus of Purdue University, and the only Millennials I know who are in favor of Lugar are a small subset of political informed yet moderate leaning individuals. The liberal and conservative activists are both hoping for a Murdock victory. The liberals see a clear path to a Donnelly victory if Murdock is his opponent, and the conservatives think that if they can beat Lugar, it's inconceivable to lose to a three term congressmen.

The press has been reporting this as likely a Lugar loss, mostly on the merit of two polls done in Indiana which only assumed around 2% of the electorate would be lean Democratic.

This may underestimate the electorate, especially when no notable contests exist on the Democratic side. I think tonight may be closer than these polls are anticipating due to their model.

All that being said, the energy of the conservative movement is behind Murdock, but Indiana is not a classical conservative movement state. I can say this with quite a bit of confidence as an individual who worked tirelessly for Obama in 08, but voted for Governor Daniels reelection (mostly due to the weakness of his opponent). The established political forces in this state are Republican, not conservative, and Richard Murdock would be a vivid departure of this political norm. A Murdock win will open the door for the Obama campaign to heavily compete here while trying to hold on to the Senate."


7:10 EST: Reports on the ground: turnout is extremely low, according to sourced inside the city government. This benefits Mourdock.

6:30 EST Latest polls show Lugar is 10 percentage points behind Mourdock.

Mourdoch is a 60-year-old conservative who's running on the record of change. According to a an anti-Lugar ad: "When Dick Lugar moved to Washington, he left behind more than his house. He left behind his conservative Hoosier values." The 30-second ad says Lugar has been called "Obama's favorite Republican."

BACKGROUND: Lugar is the longest serving Senator in Indiana's history, and he blames his likely exit on the influence of money in politics. "Thank goodness the founder of our country did not face million of dollars of negative advertising," he said.

Lugar was first elected to the Senate in 1976, but he became the targe of Tea Party groups who argued he no longer represents his constitutents and is too moderate. Lugar's challenger Mourdock says he has become more interested in compromising with liberals in Washington than representing conservatives back home.

Tea Party groups have spent $4.5 million in negative ads to defeat 80-year-old former Indianapolis mayor.

Other major contests of note are:

* In the 2nd district: Iraq veteran Brendan Mullen (D) faces off against 2010 GOP nominee and former state representative Jackie Walorski (R) this fall.

* In the 8th district, freshman Rep. Larry Bucshon (D) is likely to face former state representative Dave Crooks.

Indiana GOP Primary: LIVE Results, Dick Lugar Loses, in Major Blow to Obama

7:53 PM EST BREAKING: Dick Lugar has officially lost Indiana to Richard Mourdock. With 40% reporting, Mourdouck has 60.3% of the vote (189,405) compared to Lugar's 39.7% (124,795). Lugar cannot overcome the deficit.

ADDED TO ALIPAC HOMEPAGE News with amended title ..

http://www.alipac.us/content/dick-lu...low-obama-481/

Make a note GOP hierarchy conservatives do not buy your agenda.

7:53 PM EST BREAKING: Dick Lugar has officially lost Indiana to Richard Mourdock. With 40% reporting, Mourdouck has 60.3% of the vote (189,405) compared to Lugar's 39.7% (124,795). Lugar cannot overcome the deficit.

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Americans are mad as hell at these underground economy, pro-amnesty quislings and this 20.3% Lugar knockout punch proves it.

Next to my wedding day and the birth of my children, this is one of the happiest nights of my life. I made a promise to him years ago that this was his last term.......I am just too excited for words.

THANK GOD WE FINALLY RETIRED LUGAR! ONE DOWN, MANY MORE TO GO!

Primary results: Dick Lugar routed in Senate primary; North Carolina passes gay marriage ban



By BILL NICHOLS | 5/8/12 5:32 PM EDT Updated: 5/8/12 9:44 PM EDT


Sen. Dick Lugar, the political gold standard in Indiana for nearly 40 years, suffered a once unthinkable primary defeat Tuesday, marking a seismic shift in his state’s political culture and sending yet another warning to longtime Senate incumbents.

Lugar’s losing battle against Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, the tea-party-backed victor, was the marquee race on a primary day in which North Carolina voters approved a gay marriage ban and Mitt Romney won presidential easy primaries in West Virginia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Details on the key races:

•Polls had predicted a Lugar loss for weeks and the final results found the six-term veteran trailing by nearly 20 percentage points with almost 75 percent of the vote counted. Mourdock will face Democrat Rep. Joe Donnelly in November, a race Democrats will argue they now have at least a decent chance to win.
A Lugar loss marks a sea change in both Indiana and Washington, where Lugar has long played the role of Republican wise man, a sober internationalist who could reach across the aisle to solve difficult problems.
In today’s political climate, however, Lugar’s bipartisan leanings were part of his undoing — and the defeat of the man Richard Nixon once called “America’s mayor” when he led Indianapolis will send chills down the spines of fellow GOP incumbents seeking reelection in states where a conservative insurrection is possible.
(PHOTOS: Dick Lugar through the years)
•In North Carolina, voters backed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, making the Tarheel State the 29th state to ban gay marriage.
The issue is resonating beyond North Carolina’s borders because Democrats will come to Charlotte this fall for their national convention and the passage of such an amendment could become a rallying cry for gay-rights supporters.
The vote also came amid continuing dissonance within the Obama administration on the issue. Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he is “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage and Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday that he believes gay unions should be legal. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has been careful not to fully endorse same-sex marriage.
White House press secretary Jay Carney carefully described Obama’s view Monday as one in which the president “strongly opposes efforts to restrict rights, to repeal rights.”



•In Wisconsin, voters went to the polls to decide whether to give Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett a second chance to defeat Republican Gov. Scott Walker in next month’s recall election.
Barrett was one of four Democrats on Tuesday’s primary ballot looking to unseat Walker in the June 5 general election and polls show him leading the race. Labor groups’ favorite candidate, former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk, has trailed far behind Barrett even after major national unions threw their support behind her.





Barrett lost to Walker by roughly 5 percentage points two years ago, but action by the new governor and Republican-led Legislature to curtail collective-bargaining rights for many state workers created a statewide — and national — firestorm.
Walker, who faces only token opposition in a GOP primary Tuesday, is one of several staunch conservatives to win gubernatorial contests during the 2010 Republican wave. He could become just the third governor to be recalled in U.S. history.
•In the presidential race, there was little drama left for Tuesday’s primaries as Romney’s opposition has melted away, with former foe Rick Santorum finally issuing an endorsement — though a less than full-throated one — on Monday night.
There are 107 delegates at stake Tuesday, but Romney’s clean sweep won’t quite get him to the 1,144-delegate threshold needed to clinch the nomination.

Indiana primary results: Dick Lugar routed in Senate showdown - POLITICO.com

36yr incumbent, one "Dick" down and one to go! Adios' "Durbin"

Moved article to

• News Stories from ALIPAC Members

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