Longtime Senator Lugar trails Tea Party rival in poll

[Douglas Carpenter]

David Dawson

Reuters

7:20 p.m. CDT, May 4, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Senator Richard Lugar, a six-term incumbent representing Indiana and a leading voice on foreign policy in Congress, trails his Tea Party-backed challenger by double-digits ahead of Tuesday's Republican primary, a poll showed on Friday.

Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who draws support from the conservative Tea Party movement, leads Lugar by 10 percentage points ahead of Tuesday's primary, the Howey/Depauw Indiana Battleground Poll showed.

If defeated, Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a leading voice on stemming the spread of nuclear weapons, would be the first Senate incumbent to lose his seat this election year.

The poll conducted this week showed Mourdock with 48 percent support among likely Republican primary voters compared to Lugar's 38 percent. This was a sharp swing from a poll taken in late March by the same group in which Lugar led 42 percent to 35 percent.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-rt-us-usa-campaign-lugar-polltre843177-20120504,0,2207238.story

[jaysunb]

1. Howey/Depauw Indiana Battleground Poll ?

And who are they ???

[LiberalFighter]

2. Depauw University

and Brian Howey of Howey Politics.

Both Indiana.

[LiberalFighter]

3. If Mourduck wins it is a sign of the crazies here in Indiana.

Will have to check to see whether hard core Democrats vote in the Republican primary to determine that.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. I live in Indiana and they are both worthless...nt

[customerserviceguy]

5. What's the chances we could pick up the seat

if the tea partier wins? Or will Rand Paul just have a soulmate from a neighboring state?

[ellisonz]

7. Not bad...

Dems are running a 3-term Congressman from North-Central Indiana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Donnelly

[brooklynite]

9. This is a serious pickup opportunity...

Joe Donnelly is more conservative than most people here would like, and even I cut him off earlier this year, but this will probably move from "Likely Republican" to "Lean" or even "Tossup". Donnelly has a good fundraising operation and a lot of DSCC support.

[customerserviceguy]

12. I've always said...

Better a Blue Dog than a tea partier.

[Can I Come Home]

6. MY FEARLESS PREDICTION:

Lugar won't be out of work for long. When Obama's reelected, with Hillary leaving the Administraation, the President will tap the Hoosier for Secretary of State.

[ellisonz]

8. Not gonna happen.

[Jennicut]

10. Lugar is getting up there in age. He is 80 years old.

Even Warren Christopher (who many consider an older SOS) was younger then 80 when was SOS. About ten years younger. Time for Lugar to retire.

[Major Hogwash]

11. I've got to go to the store and get more butta.

Mo butta for my popcorn.
Mo butta, mo butta, mo betta butta.

[ellisonz]

13. Lugar goes down.