Losin' DICK Lugar: RINO shot down in flames

By Rob Janicki
The Associated Press is reporting a victory for Tea Party backed, Richard Mourdock, in the Indiana Republican Party senatorial primary, against six time incumbent, 80 year old Richard Lugar.  Lugar had been portrayed as a Washington insider out of touch with his home state of Indiana, which has recently trended more conservative than moderate RINO, Lugar.  So long Dick, it's been good to know you.  Now get the hell out of the way.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Veteran Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar lost a bitter challenge from the right flank of his own Republican Party Tuesday night, his nearly four-decade career in the Senate ended by a tea party-backed GOP foe.  [...]

As we reported here at CP, the Lugar/Mourdock race was the race to watch to see the state of today's Tea Party.  It would seem the Tea Party is alive and well in Indiana.

[,,,]  In the biggest race of the night, Lugar lost to tea-party backed state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who will face Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in the November general election. Before the polls had closed, Democrats were promising to compete hard against Mourdock. Republicans need to gain four seats to take control of the U.S. Senate, and a Lugar loss "gives Democrats a pickup opportunity," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.  [...]

My contact in Indianapolis indicates that Mourdock's opponent in the November general election, Joe Donnelly, will make it a race, but that ultimately it will be Mourdock who will prevail, thus maintaining the senate seat in the Republican column, notwithstanding Chucky Schumer's obligatory statement that the Indiana senate seat will be in play.

This pretty much summarizes the result of the Indiana Republican senatorial primary.

[...]  Playing out in a conservative state, the race illustrated the electorate's animosity toward many incumbents and anyone with deep ties to Washington. That was clear when Lugar, who hasn't faced questions about his residency in decades, found himself on the defensive over whether he lived in Indiana or northern Virginia. Lugar also was cast as too moderate for the conservative GOP in Indiana, and he took heat for his work with Democrats on issues such as nuclear nonproliferation, underscoring deep polarization in the country as well as a split in the GOP between the establishment wing and the insurgent tea party.  [...]