Richard Mourdock

	Richard Mourdock
	Indiana Treasurer
	Incumbent
	In office
	February 10, 2007 - Present
	Term ends
	February 2015
Years in position	7
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Tim Berry (R)
	Compensation
Base salary	$72,974
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2006
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
	Prior offices
	Vanderburgh County Commissioner
	1995-2002
	Education
Bachelor's	Defiance College (1973)
Master's	Ball State University (1975)
	Personal
Place of birth	Wauseon, Ohio
Profession	October 8, 1951
Religion	Evangelical Christianity
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website
	Richard Mourdock campaign logo

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Richard Mourdock (b. October 8, 1951 in Wauseon, Ohio) is the current Republican State Treasurer in Indiana. Mourdock was a 2012 Republican candidate ran for election to the U.S. Senate from Indiana. He defeated incumbent Richard Lugar in the May 8, 2012, Republican primary.^[1]

He lost to Joe Donnelly (D) on November 6, 2012.^[2]

Biography

Mourdock first took office as Indiana State Treasurer in February 2007. Prior to his election to the office, Mourdock served two terms as Commissioner of Vanderburgh County.^[3] He was a candidate for Indiana Secretary of State in 2002 and U.S. Congress in 1990 and 1992.

Mourdock has served in a number of roles in his professional career, beginning as a field geologist for the AMAX Coal Company from 1975-1979. He went on to be a senior geologist for the Standard Oil Company from 1979-1984, and executive for Koester Companies, Inc. from 1984-2000. He has served as principal of R.E. Mourdock and Associates, Limited Liability Company since 2001.^[4]

Education

Ball State University, Master’s Degree in Geology^[5]
Defiance College in Ohiom Bachelor’s Degree ^[5]

Political career

Indiana Treasurer (2007-Present)

Vanderburgh County Commissioner (1995-2002)

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Indiana, 2012

Mourdock ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Indiana. Mourdock won nomination on the Republican ticket, defeating incumbent Richard Lugar in the May 8 primary.^[1] ^[6] He was then defeated by Joe Donnelly (D) in the general election.

According to the website Daily Kos, this race was one of nine top-ballot 2012 races that contained Libertarian candidates who received more total votes than was the difference between the Democratic winner and the GOP runner-up. In this case, Andy Horning took in over 4,800 more votes than the number that separated Donnelly and Mourdock.^[7]

U.S. Senate, Indiana, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joe Donnelly	50%	1,281,181
	Republican	Richard Mourdock	44.3%	1,133,621
	Libertarian	Andy Horning	5.7%	145,282
	Independent	James Johnson, Jr.	0%	15
	Independent	Amy Willis	0%	3
Total Votes				2,560,102
Source: Indiana Secretary of State "United States Senate Election Results"

U.S. Senate-Indiana Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Richard Mourdock	60.5%	400,321
Richard Lugar Incumbent	39.5%	261,285
Total Votes		661,606

The two candidates ran a close race, despite the fact that Indiana is seen as a Republican-leaning state. After the conservative Mourdock replaced the moderate Lugar as the republican candidate, democratic candidate Joe Donnelly has a good chance at wining the seat. Lugar drew support from members of both parties, but Mourdock's tea-party background divides Indiana voters along party lines.^[8]

On October 23, 2012, in a debate against opponent Joe Donnelly, Richard Mourdock, asked about his stance on abortion in the case of rape or incest, said "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."^[9] This remark caused New Hampshire republican senator Kelly Ayotte to withdraw her support of Mourdock and cancel her plans to campaign for him in the final weeks before the election.^[10]

An October 2012 article in The Daily named Mourdock one of the 20 worst candidates in 2012.^[11]

Election law violation

Mourdock's Senate campaign is under scrutiny after allegations that Mourdock's state campaign used funds to aid his federal U.S. Senate campaign, a violation of federal election law.^[12] This comes after a legal analysis conducted for the Lugar campaign and a complaint sent to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by former Rushville, Indiana mayor and former Rush County Republican Chairman John McCane.^[12]

The complaint states that Mourdock "accessed voter information through his state committee, transferred the information to his federal committee and then used the information to send mass communications to voters through his federal committee."^[12] Mourdock's state campaign accessed the information through the Party's computer database in January 2011, then transferred the information to his federal Senate campaign in February 2011 at time of his candidacy announcement to communicate with mass numbers of voters, and since has continued to use the information.^[12]

Federal law specifically prohibits "transfers of funds or assets from a candidate's campaign committee or account for a nonfederal election to his or her principal campaign committee or other authorized committee for a federal election."^[12]

Push for bipartisanship

In the run up to the election, many republicans are trying to show that they are bipartisan and willing to work with Democrats. Mourdock has started to state that he would be willing to work with anyone in Washington. Mourdock is trying to soften his position towards bipartisan ship and show that he is willing to work with Democrats. In a recent poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS news, results found that nearly 44% of Americans blamed Republicans for the deadlock in Congress. Republicans are trying to hold on to their districts with showing themselves to be more bipartisan.^[13]

Endorsements

The Club for Growth endorsed Mourdock over incumbent Richard Lugar on February 14, 2012.^[14]^[15] The National Rifle Association endorsed Mourdock over incumbent Richard Lugar are on March 7, 2012.^[16] Indiana's Tea Party has also endorsed Mourdock.^[17] Indiana's Tea Party has also endorsed Mourdock.^[18] The Family Research Council PAC endorsed Mourdock on January 31, 2012.^[19]

Mourdock received an endorsement from the Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund.^[20]

Sarah Palin announced her endorsement of Mourdock over incumbent Senator Richard Lugar on April 27, 2012.^[21]

On May 2, 2012 Mourdock received endorsements from Representative Michele Bachmann and Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform.^[22]

Super PACs

According to information compiled by Center for Responsive Politics, as of May 7, 2012 super PACs spent approximately $2.5 million in the race between incumbent Richard Lugar and Mourdock.^[23]

Information from the Center for Public Integrity shows that Super PACs and other outside groups are on track to spend more on challenger Mourdock in his campaign to unseat Lugar than Mourdock’s own campaign.^[24] As of the most recent campaign filings available to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) prior to the primary election on May 8, outside groups supportive of Mourdock have spent "about $3 million, $1 million more than Mourdock’s own campaign."^[24]

Polls

2012

U.S. Senate in Indiana, General election candidates
Response	Rasmussen Reports July 31-August 1, 2012	Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group August 9-12, 2012	Average
Richard Mourdock	42%	43%	42.5%
Joe Donnelly	40%	45%	42.5%
Other candidate	3%	0%	1.5%
Undecided	15%	12%	13.5%

Number polled	400	601	500.5
Margin of error	+/-5	+/-4%	4.5%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Campaign donors

2012

Breakdown of the source of Mourdock's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Mourdock lost election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Mourdock's campaign committee raised a total of $8,834,849 and spent $8,807,000.^[25]

U.S. Senate, Indiana, 2012 - Richard Mourdock Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$8,834,849
Total Spent	$8,807,000
Total Raised by Election Winner	$5,661,997
Total Spent by Election Winner	$5,579,171
Top contributors to Richard Mourdock's campaign committee
Club for Growth	$524,050
Senate Conservatives Fund	$226,385
Koch Industries	$38,500
Alliance Resource Partners	$25,000
NorPAC	$24,300
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Republican/Conservative	$930,106
Retrred	$599,399
Leadership PACs	$504,514
Oil & Gas	$218,836
Securities & Investment	$195,768

According to a July 9, 2012 Roll Call report, Mourdock raised $1.6 million dollars in the second quarter.^[26] At the end of the cycle, he reportedly had $889,000 cash-on-hand,^[27] substantially less than Joe Donnelly's $1.3 million cash on hand at the end of the cycle.^[28]

Mourdock raised over $3 million in campaign donations during the third quarter according to a campaign aide.^[29]

2010

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Richard Mourdock's donors each year.^[30] Click [show] for more information.

Richard Mourdock's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Indiana Treasurer		2006 Indiana Treasurer		2002 Indiana Secretary of State
Total Raised	$450,441		$380,701		$146,178
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$287,557 (Dem.)		$58,326 (Dem.)		-
Top 5 contributors	Indiana Republican Party	$28,663	Indiana Republican Party	$194,942	Richard E. Mourdock	$57,918
	Barnes & Thornburg	$15,000	Richard Earl Mourdock	$12,174	Dunn Hospitality Group
	London Witte Group	$11,000	London Witte Group	$6,500	Alveys Signs	$4,538
	Baker & Daniels	$11,000	Richard Mourdock	$5,488	Ralph Dear	$4,000
	Indiana Republican Statewide Team	$10,204	Dunn Hospitality Group	$5,400	Vanderburgh Republican Central Committee	$4,000
Individuals	$183,970		$95,402		$35,854
Institutions	$213,255		$66,545		$41,035
In-state donations	$381,101		$334,555		$144,553
Out-of-state donations	$66,512		$46,106		$1,625

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