Lugar would certainly not be the first veteran centrist congressmen to leave office this year. Lugar has long been appealing to the median voter, as evidenced by his many reelections. However, the increased party emphasis on avoiding compromise at all costs has both driven centrists out of the House. Unlike the departures of Maine Republican Olympia Snowe or Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman, Lugar would not be choosing to leave. His loss would indicate a shift in not only the Congressional culture, but a shift in the composition of Indiana’s Republican voter base decidedly towards the Tea Party. Mourdock’s campaign is chiefly buttressed by conservative Tea Party supporters.
As there is a presidential election this year, Republican candidates are particularly poised to align themselves with the national party's tea party tinged focuses in order to receive national support. In Indiana, Mourdock has taken to using Lugar’s popularity against him.
“People are looking at where our federal government is, the excessive tenure, the fact that he’s distanced himself from Indiana willingly, that he’s certainly out of touch on a lot of the primary issues that move primary voting blocs — the hard core of our party — and they just think he’s gone Washington, he’s been gone too long,” said Mourdock in an interview with POLITICO this month.
Both members of Lugar’s opposition have gained traction among Indiana voters from similar claims and Lugar has steadily fallen behind in the polls and further warning signs of Lugar’s impending loss prevalent. Recently, the American Action Network (AAN), a well known Republican Super PAC, pulled funding from Lugar’s campaign and stopped airing ads on TV and online. The organization has spent $645,153 on Lugar this year and its videos have made up the majority of the ads opposing Mourdock. With the primary just days away, the loss of AAN’s support is not sending the desired message.
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