INDIANAPOLIS —
Democrat Joe Donnelly and Republican Richard Mourdock are spending the final hours of their fierce race for a U.S. Senate seat touring the state telling voters almost the same thing: Send me to Washington if you want to break the partisan gridlock.
They’re echoing that message with similar words as well: Send the other guy and things will only get worse.
On Monday morning, both candidates kicked off the final leg of the race, meeting with supporters and urging voters to get to the polls today. Each had a party stalwart with them. Mourdock had Republican Sen. Dan Coats at his side, while Donnelly had former Sen. Evan Bayh, the last Democrat to represent Indiana in the Senate.
“I don’t think Hoosiers could have a more clear choice than they have in this race,” Mourdock told reporters at the First Watch Café in Indianapolis, where he greeted breakfast diners before starting a fly-around of the state. “It’s either get away from the politics of (President Barack) Obama that Joe Donnelly has supported, or let’s have some more gridlock.”
Within an hour, just up the road in a Democrat campaign field office in the affluent Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, Donnelly and Bayh were deploying the same kind of language to make the argument for Donnelly.
Describing the partisan-paralyzed Congress as “broken,” Bayh said: “The only way to improve it is to send people who work together.” He added: “If we had more Joe Donnellys in the Senate, it wouldn’t be as broken as it is.”
Another common theme that emerged in their comments was: It’s the other side that’s to blame for making the race the most expensive Senate contest in Indiana history. More than $20 million has been spent so far; nearly half of the money from outside groups has been spent the last three weeks.
Mourdock said he knew the race would be costly when he saw Democrats pouring cash into the race, not long after he toppled six-term U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar in the May primary with strong tea party support.
“I thought all along this was going to be a very close race,” said Mourdock, disputing results of the independent Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll released Friday that showed Donnelly ahead by more than 10 points. The poll also showed Libertarian Andy Horning had picked up 6 percent of voter support.
Donnelly, meanwhile, referenced reports that showed more than $6 million in outside money has been spent on Mourdock’s behalf since mid-October. (In the same period, about $4.7 million in outside money has come in for Donnelly.)
“A lot of folks came in here trying to buy an Indiana Senate seat,” Donnelly said. “I think the great thing we’ve seen is that the people of Indiana have said: ‘This seat belongs to us.’”
Both Donnelly and Mourdock looked worn out early Monday, but both expressed gratitude for the long hours their campaign volunteers have put in. Both said their campaigns have been energized in recent days.
Fueling that energy in large part was the Howey/DePauw poll that showed Mourdock had apparently lost significant ground with independents and some people in his own party because of a statement he made during an October debate. In responding to a question about abortion, Mourdock said he was “pro-life” without any exceptions, including for rape, because pregnancy resulting from rape is "something God intended.”
Morgan Whitacre, 27, a Democratic field office staff member, said after the Howey poll was released, “we were flooded with volunteers.” Mourdock’s staff said his campaign was bolstered as well by supporters who thought the media had taken Mourdock’s words out of context.
Donnelly said he was pleased with the poll numbers but wary of taking anything for granted. “I always run like I’m 10 points behind and 10 days out,” Donnelly said.
Back at the First Watch Café, where Mourdock had started his Monday, restaurant manager Gary Bates said he was glad he had the opportunity to help out the Mourdock campaign.
But he also voiced an opinion that may cross party lines among voters who’ve witnessed an onslaught of television commercials from both the Donnelly and Mourdock camps. “I’ll be glad,” Bates said, “not to have to watch any of the ads on TV anymore.”
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Local & Bistate
Senate candidates push into final leg of race
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A proposal that revamps sex education in Illinois public schools to include information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases has cleared the state Senate.
-
Gregg pondering 2nd run for Indiana governor
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg is pondering another run at the state's top job, but has yet to make a decision.
-
Illinois senator apologizes for Nazi remark
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter has apologized for remarks that compared a member of Gov. Pat Quinn’s cabinet to a Nazi.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Tuesday and Wednesday, based on jail records.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” - More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Illinois Senate approves sex education bill




