Tagged: Congressman Joe Donnelly

With four days until the general election a new independent poll shows Democrat Joe Donnelly with a double-digit lead over Republican Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate race.

The survey conducted by Howey Politics Indiana and DePauw University has Donnelly up by 11 points, which is a significant jump from the 2-point lead that the Democratic congressman held in the same poll two months ago.

Observers point to Mourdock's controversial comments on rape pregnancies as the culprit for his plummeting polls numbers.

In a new television ad airing statewide, Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock is going on the offensive in response to a series of attacks from his opponent and national Democrats.

The spot slams Congressman Joe Donnelly for "sleazy politics," and escalates what has become a national race for control of the Senate. Mourdock's camp is specifically responding to tough ad put out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that targets the GOP nominee's comments about that pregnancies resulting from rape were intended by God.

Mourdock's campaign says Donnelly and the Democrats are "twisting" his word and "attacking his faith" over the issue of abortion.

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Indiana Republican Senate nominee Richard Mourdock is blasting Democratic candidate Joe Donnelly for a blistering ad released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Thursday afternoon.

The spot goes after Mourdock's controversial comments about rape pregnancies, and demands he apologize for the remarks. A day after, Mourdock said his words were inarticulate and said he was sorry if people misinterpreted them.

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Republican Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock has ignited a national firestorm for his abortion comments this week, but pro-life activists are coming to the GOP nominees defense and see the remarks as a chance to explain their views.

Democrats and Republicans have pounced on Mourdock after he said that pregnancies resulting from rape should not be an exception to an abortion ban because it is the will of God. At a press conference Wednesday, Mourdock stood by his position, but he explained that he abhors rape and apologized if anyone "came away with the wrong impression" from his statement.

Anti-abortion activist Rebecca Kiessling is a spokeswoman for Personhood USA. She says pro-life voters are are proud that Mourdock stood up for life against abortion even in cases of rape, and that critics are deliberately exaggerating his comments to score political points.

"Of course he was saying that the life of the child conceived in rape was created by God. And I believe that he’s in line with the overwhelming majority of Americans and Hoosiers who understand that God is the author of life," he says.

During the final debate in the Indiana Senate race on Tuesday evening, Republican Richard Mourdock said that pregnancies resulting from rape should not be exempt from an abortion ban because they are the will of God.

During the hour-long debate against Democrat Joe Donnelly and Libertarian Andrew Horning, the GOP nominee appeared to fight back tears while answering a question about his stance on abortion and women's reproductive health issues.

"I know there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view. But I believe that life begins at conception. The only exception I have, to have an abortion, is in that case of the life of the mother," said Mourdock. "I've struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

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Political parties and outside groups have already spent large sums in Indiana's Senate race, and voters can expect to see a surge in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Republican Richard Mourdock holds a huge lead over Democrat Joe Donnelly in fundraising, and conservative Super PACs have been running ads. But Democrats are planning to pump additional cash into the race as well.